It would be unthinkable to speak about the penal system and penal reform without remembering and referring to one of the greatest penal reformers of all time, the pioneer after whom this society is named, the great John Howard, the man who spent the best years of his life in continuous efforts and indefatigable attempts to improve prison conditions in Britain and Europe. 1977 marked the bicentennial anniversary of the publication of his famous bookThe State of the Prisonsin which he not only described the deplorable conditions in penal institutions, but also stressed the urgent need for penal reform and eloquently pointed to the direction this reform must take.