The European Union And Deprivation Of Liberty

"The European Union and Deprivation of Liberty examines the EU legislative and judicial approach to deprivation of liberty from the perspective of the following fundamental rights and principles: the principle of legality and proportionality of penalties; the right to liberty; and the principle that criminal penalties must aim for the social reintegration of the offenders. The book measures the relevant EU law against those rights; this constitutes the very core of the relationship between public powers and individual liberty. The analysis shows that the ultimate goal of the Union is the creation and preservation of the EU as a borderless area. The holistic approach adopted in the book explains how different legal phenomena connected to deprivation of liberty have come into being in EU law. It also shows that those phenomena call for solutions suitable for the peculiarities of the EU legal order"--Bloomsbury Publishing.

The European Union and Deprivation of Liberty examines the EU legislative and judicial approach to deprivation of liberty from the perspective of the following fundamental rights and principles: the principle of legality and proportionality of penalties; the right to liberty; and the principle that criminal penalties must aim for the social reintegration of the offenders. The book measures the relevant EU law against those rights; this constitutes the very core of the relationship between public powers and individual liberty. The analysis shows that the ultimate goal of the Union is the creation and preservation of the EU as a borderless area. The holistic approach adopted in the book explains how different legal phenomena connected to deprivation of liberty have come into being in EU law. It also shows that those phenomena call for solutions suitable for the peculiarities of the EU legal order.

The European Union and Deprivation of Liberty examines the EU legislative and judicial approach to deprivation of liberty from the perspective of the following fundamental rights and principles: the principle of legality and proportionality of penalties; the right to liberty; and the principle that criminal penalties must aim for the social reintegration of the offenders. The book measures the relevant EU law against those rights; this constitutes the very core of the relationship between public powers and individual liberty. The analysis shows that the ultimate goal of the Union is the creation and preservation of the EU as a borderless area. The holistic approach adopted in the book explains how different legal phenomena connected to deprivation of liberty have come into being in EU law. It also shows that those phenomena call for solutions suitable for the peculiarities of the EU legal order.

In 2008, the introduction of the EU's Framework Decision - the principle of mutual recognition of judgments in criminal matters, imposing custodial sentences or measures involving deprivation of liberty for the purpose of their enforcement - sparked discussions as to whether the practical operation of the instrument would be compatible with its very objective, being the enhancement of detained persons' social rehabilitation prospects. Transferring detained people back to their respective Member State of residence and/or nationality within the mutual recognition framework is somewhat precarious in light of the variety of Member States' legal and prison systems. In this context, and following a call for tender by the European Commission, the authors of this book conducted the largest study to date on Member States' material detention conditions, early/conditional release provisions, and sentence execution modalities. In addition to exploring the diversity of legal frameworks, the study also assessed practitioners' views on the cross-border execution of custodial sentences in the EU. This book contains EU-level legal and practitioners' analyses, as well as the high level final report to the study, confirming preliminary concerns that flanking measures are urgently needed for a proper operation of the Framework Decision. It will be essential reading for policy makers, judicial and law enforcement authorities, and defense lawyers. Additionally, it will be an asset to everyone who is involved in or taking an interest in detention issues and cross-border execution of judgements involving deprivation of liberty in the EU. (Series: Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy [IRCP] - Vol. 40)

This publication examines the rules in force in Europe governing prisons and the treatment of prisoners, including the use of force, the selection of prison staff and the protection of prisoners' human rights, based on Recommendation Rec (2006) 2 on the European Prison Rules (which was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in January 2006). It contains the text of the recommendation with a detailed commentary on it, together with a report which considers recent developments and analyses the effectiveness of these rules and of imprisonment as a form of punishment.

The development of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice has transformed the European Union and placed fundamental rights at the core of EU integration and its principles of mutual recognition and trust. The impact of the AFSJ in the development of an EU standard of fundamental rights, which has come to the fore since the Treaty of Lisbon, is a topic of great theoretical and practical importance. This is the first systematic academic study of the AFSJ and its implications from the point of view of fundamental rights. The contributions to this collection examine the normative and jurisprudential development of the AFSJ in order to assess its effects on the overall construction of the scope and standards of protection of EU fundamental rights in this particularly complex and sensitive field of integration. The expert contributors systematically map and critically assess this area of EU law, together with the relevant case-law.

This paper argues that the application of mutual recognition to judicial cooperation in criminal matters within the European Union (EU) imposes a redefinition of the right to liberty to adjust the latter to the peculiarities of the Union legal order. The article emphasises the important role that the principle of proportionality in EU law can have for improving the protection of the right to liberty. The two main scenarios of this research are analysed against the different understandings of proportionality: on the one hand, the European Arrest Warrant Framework Decision and the interpretation of the EU Court of Justice (CJEU); on the other, the three FDs on transfer of prisoners, probation measures and pre trial measures alternative to detention. The conclusions reveal that, in spite of the increasing attention payed to proportionality in relation to the right to liberty in mutual recognition, the potential offered by Union law to better protect the right to liberty is still underexploited.

In 2008, for the European Union, the introduction of the Framework Decision - the principle of mutual recognition to judgments in criminal matters, imposing custodial sentences or measures involving deprivation of liberty for the purpose of their enforcement - sparked discussions as to whether the practical operation of the instrument would be compatible with its very objective, being the enhancement of detained persons' social rehabilitation prospects. Transferring detained people back to their respective Member State of residence and/or nationality within the mutual recognition framework is somewhat precarious in light of the variety of Member States' legal and prison systems. In this context, and following a call for tender by the European Commission, the authors of this book conducted the largest study to date on Member States' material detention conditions, early/conditional release provisions, and sentence execution modalities. In addition to exploring the diversity of legal frameworks, the study also assessed practitioners' views on the cross-border execution of custodial sentences in the EU. The book contains individual Member State reports resulting from legal practitioners' analyses, backed by additional information drawn from monitoring and evaluation conducted at the Council of Europe (Committee for the Prevention of Torture) and United Nation levels. This will be essential reading for EU policy makers, judicial and law enforcement authorities, and defense lawyers. Additionally, it will be an asset to everyone who is involved in or taking an interest in detention issues and cross-border execution of judgements involving deprivation of liberty in the EU. (Series: Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy [IRCP] - Vol. 41)

This book presents a collection of essays on key topics and new perspectives on the EU’s Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) and has a Foreword by the President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Prof. Dr. Koen Lenaerts. Europe’s area of freedom, security and justice is of increasing importance in contemporary EU law and legislation. It is worthy of special research attention because of its high-stakes content (particularly from an individual and a state perspective) and because its development to date has tangentially thrown up some of the most important and contentious constitutional questions in EU law. As the AFSJ becomes more and more intertwined with ‘mainstream’ EU law, this edited collection provides a timely analysis of the merger between the two. Showcasing a selection of work from key thinkers in this field, the book is organised around the major AFSJ themes of crime, security, border control, civil law cooperation and important ‘meta’ issues of governance and constitutional law. It also analyses the major constitutional and governance challenges such as variable geometry, institutional dynamics, and interface with rights around data protection/secrecy/spying. In the concluding section of the book the editors consider the extent to which the different facets of the AFSJ can be construed in a coherent and systematic manner within the EU legal system, as well as identifying potential future research agendas. The European Union as an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice will be of great interest to students and scholars of European law and politics.