Sharjah Ruler issues law regulating correctional institution

His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, has issued a law regulating the correctional institution in the Emirate of Sharjah.

The law aims to:

1. Establish the general policy of the correctional institution in a manner that ensures the achievement of security, reform, and rehabilitation.

2. Establish the principles and rules governing the Institution, based on the principle of social defence, so that the enforcement of sentences serves to protect society.

3. Provide a safe environment that safeguards the dignity of inmates and protects their rights.

4. Socially, psychologically, and culturally, reform and rehabilitate convicted persons serving custodial sentences.

The provisions of the law shall apply to the Correctional Institution in the Emirate, as well as to any other institutions or centres established to achieve the same objectives, and to places designated for the execution of pre-trial detention orders, where such places are located outside the geographical jurisdiction of the Institution’s administration.

Under the law, a local institution for correction and rehabilitation, to be known as the “Correctional Institution,” shall be established in the Emirate. The Institution shall be administratively and financially affiliated with the Sharjah Police.

The headquarters of the Institution shall be in the City of Sharjah. The Commander-in-Chief may, by decision and with the approval of the Executive Council, establish branches or designate locations for the Institution in other cities and areas of the Emirate.

The law stipulates that the Institution shall be divided into:

1. Correctional Institution for Men.

2. Correctional Institution for Women.

3. Juvenile Centre for persons sentenced to imprisonment or placement, with due regard to the separation of males and females.

The law sets out legal provisions covering all aspects of the organisation of the Correctional Institution, including regulations governing its construction, supervision, and administration; its database; inspection procedures; visitation arrangements; admission of inmates; their rights; healthcare; social care; education and awareness; violations and disciplinary sanctions; the release of inmates; age categories and benefits granted to inmates; and other related legal provisions.