Inmates who are dissatisfied with their treatment in penal institutions may file their complaints as civil or administrative lawsuits,criminal complaints or charges,or notification of human rights violation,under general appeals systems.Furthermore,they may also file petitions to the Minister of Justice or his/her inspectors(officers of the Ministry of Justice who carry out on-the-spot inspections of penal institutions under the order of the Minister of Justice)under the prison law legislations.Petitions should be sent to the Minister of Justice in writing,or may be submitted to an inspector either in writing or orally.In both cases,complaints shall be confidential to ensure that the contents of the complaint will not be made known to the institution staff in advance.Inmates may also request interviews by the warden of the institution.
  Fig. 2-4-3-6 shows the trend of grievances filed by inmates during the period from1994to2003.The number of grievances has been on a significant upward trend,increasing4.9-fold in2003compared to1994.

Fig. 2-4-3-6 Trend of grievances filed by inmates(1994-2003)