European Prisons. Nijmegen: Wolf Legal

Polish executive law allows for the possibility of implementing an individualised approach to imprisonment in a system encompassing programmed, therapeutic or normal rehabilitation. Polish laws take into full account the Convention's standards on the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1984 and the European Prison Rules issued by the Council of Europe. There are no specific provisions in Polish legislation relating to the imprisonment of foreigners, however, the guarantees of respect for dignity and cultural distinctiveness arise directly from the general principles for imprisonment. The number of foreigners incarcerated in Polish prisons is small. Every year, approximately 7,000 foreigners are convicted in Poland. Of this group, on average, 300 are serving a prison sentence. In this article we will outline the characteristics of this group of convicted criminals based on the available statistical data and in relation to the regulations in effect in Poland.

2019

Analisa a função da noção de reabilitação dos condenados nos mecanismos de cooperação judiciária da União Europeia, com especial ênfase nas transferências internacionais. Argumenta que a reabilitação dos condenados é uma noção cada vez mais importante em nível supranacional, capaz de impor deveres progressivamente mais restritivos às autoridades policiais domésticas

This article examines the rapid expansion of the foreign national prison population in the UK against a backdrop of public and political anxiety about immigration and crime. It explores official data considering some of the possible explanations for the growth in the number of foreign national prisoners and the implications this has for penal management. Whilst increases in both the number of foreign nationals entering the UK and the number of foreign nationals in UK prisons has strengthened the association between immigration and crime in the public imagination, there is little empirical evidence to suggest that foreign nationals are more dangerous than British nationals. Instead, the growth of the foreign national prison population appears to stem from a number of sources that may operate alone or in tandem.

2017

Within the RiUscire project an important section was devoted to the collection and analysis of good practices that may support the linguistic and social integration of a particular group of adult migrants: those in the prison systems of Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and Portugal. The collection of these practices is necessary and pivotal to start a shared action at a European level. Best practices were surveyed through analysis grids that ensure respect for diversity and the right to rehabilitative actions thanks to linguistic and communicative competences as well as professional development. Résumé : Un volet important du projet RiUscire a été consacré à la collecte et à l’analyse des bonnes pratiques susceptibles de soutenir l’intégration linguistique et sociale d’un groupe particulier de migrants adultes, incarcérés en Espagne, en Italie, en France, en Allemagne et au Portugal. Le recueil de ces pratiques est nécessaire et essentiel pour lancer une action commune au niveau europ...

Prisons in Europe: 2005-2015. Volume 1: Country Profiles., 2019

How many inmates are held in European prisons? Among them, how many are women? How many are foreign citizens? How many are not serving a final sentence? How many people enter prison every year, and how long do they remain there? Are there enough places for all of them? What is the ratio of inmates per member of prison staff? How much do prisons cost? The answers to these and many other questions can be found in this volume, which compiles and updates 11 years of the Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics, better known as the SPACE statistics. The situation in each country is analysed through individual country profiles, which include key facts and graphs covering the years 2005-2015. In addition, a comparative section allows for analysis of the relative position of each country with regard to the other member states of the Council of Europe and of the European Union. This is accompanied by a methodological section, which sets out the main problems related to this type of comparison.

O f all the sources providing data on penal matters, prison statistics stand first for their regular use in European comparisons. The prison population rate (see definitions) is usually considered as less sensitive to specific legal and institutional features than other indicators. This rate is calculated annually through a survey conducted under the auspices of the Council of Europe, and produces a relatively stable classification of countries over the years. The Scandinavian countries have the lowest rates, ranging from 40 per 100,000 inhabitants for Iceland to 78 for Sweden. The highest rates are found in the former Soviet Union countries, with up to 577 for the Federation of Russia. Eastern European countries formerly under Soviet domination have high rates as well. Western European countries are somewhere in between, on the whole, but with some significant differences: Belgium has a prison population rate of 90 per 100,000 whereas the Netherlands are at 134 and England and Wales at 143 per 100,000. This brief summary of findings that may be further accentuated by mapping should not conceal the fact that some countries outside Scandinavia have also relatively low rates, such as Switzerland (82), Slovenia (57) and even Greece (87). Which Prisoners are Counted ? The revised questionnaire introduced since the 2004 SPACE survey gives a better idea of variations in the field covered by statistics in different countries. The category « prison population » should include all individuals, be they pre-trial or sentenced prisoners, present on a given day of the year in all Prison Entries and Length of Detention. The Diversity of the Correctional Systems Situation in Europe Penal Issues CESDIP Centre de Recherches Sociologiques sur le Droit et les Institutions Pénales www.cesdip.com Marcelo F. AEBI, professor of Criminology at the University of Lausanne, Bruno AUBUSSON DE CAVARLAY, researcher at the CESDIP, and Natalia STADNIC, researcher in Criminology at the University of Lausanne, analyze the results of the 2005 SPACE I statistical survey of prison populations, conducted under the auspices of the Council of Europe.

2008

The European Prison Observatory operates in 8 countries (France, United Kingdom, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Spain), in order to monitor the penitentiary systems and the prison regimes and conditions. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, the European Prison Observatory analyses the present conditions of the national prison systems and the related systems of alternatives to detention in Europe, underlining their peculiarities and weaknesses, and comparing these conditions to the international norms and standards relevant for the protections of inmates’ fundamental rights. The first action of the European Prison Observatorywas the gathering of available data on conditions of detention in different European countries. The main references for the identification of the data to be collected have been SPACE I (Annual Penal Statistics of the Council Of Europe) and the European Prison Rules. The annual penal statistics have beenused to identify what kind of data ca be expected to be available in every country; the European Prison Rules set the guidelines to determine if detention conditions match the minimum necessary standards tobe met in Europe. The most important part of this research is the qualitative one, regarding the actual detention conditions of the 8 monitored European Countries. This part of our work is mainly based on the European Prison Rules (EPR). Established in 1987 with a recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (recommendation no. R (87) 3 on the European Prison Rules), the European Prison Rules are the main reference for the correct management of deprivation of personal liberty in the European Union. They require all persons deprived of their liberty to be treated with humanity and with respect for human dignity. The Council of Europe recommendation - revised by Recommendation Rec (2006) 2 - urges the Member States to ensure that domestic regulations and interpretive practices of the different EU countries comply with some basic principles. The European Prison Observatory support the enforcement of the recommendations contained in the EPR and for this reason organized its survey according to them. The basic principles state that all persons deprived of their liberty must be treated with respect for their human rights (Art. 1) and that eventual restrictions imposed on them must strictly follow the decision sentencing them or remanding them in custody (Art. 2) and shall be the minimum necessary (Art. 3); that the conditions of imprisonment shall, as much as possible, approximate to the conditions of life in free society (Art. 5) and promote the detainees’ social rehabilitation (Art. 6); and that cooperation with outside social services and with the civil society must be encouraged all the way (Art. 7). These basic principles of the European Prison Rules are followed by a long list of requirements regarding the very conditions of imprisonment: admission, allocation and accommodation, hygiene, clothing and bedding, nutrition, legal advice, contact with the outside world, prison regime, work, exercise and recreation, education, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, information, prisoners’ property, transfer and release of prisoners. Particular sections are reserved to certain vulnerable groups (women, detained children, infants, foreigners, minorities). With similar concern are seen the conditions relating to the prisoners’ safeguard of health (health care, medical personnel) and those relating to the maintenance of good order (security, searching and controls, discipline and punishment). In relation to these rules, the Observatory has sought to concentrate on and inquire into four corresponding levels: • Legal provisions: assessing if the prison law of each Country has implemented the requirements of the European Prison Rules: if so, how have they been implemented, or what eventual voids persist that can affect the mutual trust between Countries and the standard level of the protection of individual rights. • General actual conditions: description of the current detention conditions, regarding the abovementioned features. • The worst conditions: special focus on the criticalconditions observed in each country. • Best practices: examples of countries observing the rights of the persons deprived of their liberty in the EU territory, focusing on treatment with humanity and respect for their dignity as required by the international rules. Special attention, concerning the current situationof the European prisons, is paid to the Art. 4 of EPR, which states: “Prison conditions that infringe prisoners’ human rights are not justified by lack of resources”. Hence, the economic crisis, which torments the EU countries, may not be put forward to defend possible violations of human dignity of prison population.

2018

This article presents the findings of the author's doctoral research with male Polish prisoners incarcerated in Northern Ireland. Debating the need for expanding our understanding of how the pains of confinement are experienced differentially depending on citizenship, nationality and linguistic ability, the article argues that in the case of those prisoners the exercise of prison power focused on exclusionary practices. This has had an impact on how those prisoners were able (or not) to resist the prison regime. The discussion reflects on how this exclusionary power of the prison is aided by two external forces - the UK's immigration system and Poland's criminal justice system - in maintaining 'order' and compliance.

In the second part of his article on Scandinavian exceptionalism, John Pratt identified certain developments that might undermine the exceptional status of Scandinavian prisons and penal culture. A major problem looming on the horizon, according to Pratt, was the effects of globalization on Scandinavian societies. Since then, scholars have claimed that a bifurcation is emerging in the Norwegian correctional system, with humane and inclusive punishments reserved for nationals, while a more exclusionary alternative system is being developed to respond to the perceived challenge represented by foreign nationals. The opening of Norway's first all-foreign prison in 2013 has been seen as part of this trend. In this article, we describe three pains of imprisonment experienced by foreign national prisoners: those of (1) discrimination; (2) long-distance relationships; and (3) deportability. We argue that these are all specifically tied to the prison's status as an all-foreign prison.