Prison leave and access to justice: Some insight into Danish and German law in action

Egileak

##plugins.pubIds.doi.readerDisplayName##:

https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1355

Gako-hitzak:

Access to justice, prison leave, discretion, law in action, comparative criminal justice

Laburpena

In this article, we use the example of prison leave to discuss prisoners’ access to justice. Based on a functional comparative analysis between Denmark and Germany, we study the law in action. In Germany, prisoners have a legally prescribed right of access to the courts in cases of denial of prison leave. However, in Denmark prisoners face more barriers when trying to access the court. In our analysis, we have compared Danish court cases with letters from German prisoners referring to their struggles with prison administrations and courts. The materials from both countries show more similarities than one would expect, given the significant differences between the substantive law in the two jurisdictions. While acknowledging the need for further empirical investigation, we introduce a concept we term “genuine justice”, with the aim of paving the way for other and more radical remedies supplementing the economic, legal and social measures already in place.

##plugins.generic.usageStats.downloads##

##plugins.generic.usageStats.noStats##

        Metrics

Views 675
Downloads:
13(4)_Graebsch_Storgaard_OSLS (English) 373
XML_13(4)_Graebsch_Storgaard_OSLS (English) 23


##submission.authorBiographies##

##submission.authorWithAffiliation##

Prof. Dr. jur. Christine Graebsch, Dipl.-Krim. Faculty of Applied Social Studies, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Dortmund (Germany). Web page: https://www.fh-dortmund.de/personen/Christine-Graebsch/index.php

##submission.authorWithAffiliation##

Prof. Lic. jur. Anette Storgaard. Department of Law, Aarhus University (Denmark). Web page: https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/persons/anette-storgaard Email address: as@law.au.dk

Erreferentziak

Albiston, C.R., and Sandefur, R.L., 2013. Expanding the empirical study of access to justice. Wisconsin Law Review, 101.

Bahl, E., and Pollähne, H., 2021. Vorbereitung der Entlassung. In: J. Feest, W. Lesting and M. Lindemann, eds., Strafvollzugsgesetze. 8th ed. Cologne: Carl Heymanns, II § 42 LandesR.

Beijersbergen, K.A., Dirkzwager, A.J.E., and Nieuwbeerta, P., 2016. Reoffending After Release: Does Procedural Justice During Imprisonment Matter? Criminal Justice and Behavior, 43(1), pp. 63–82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854815609643

Burkhardt, S.U., 2021. Lockerungen zur Erreichung des Vollzugsziels. In: J. Feest, W. Lesting and M. Lindemann, eds., Strafvollzugsgesetze. 8th ed. Cologne: Carl Heymanns, II § 42 LandesR.

Cernko, D., 2014. Die Umsetzung der CPT-Empfehlungen im deutschen Strafvollzug. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot.

Crewe, B., 2011. Depth, weight tightness – Revisiting the pains of imprisonment. Punishment & Society, 13(5), pp. 509–529. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1462474511422172

Dragsted, A., and Schiøler, J., 2017. Straffuldbyrdelsesloven med kommentarer. 2nd ed. Copenhagen: Jurist og Økonomforbundets Forlag, pp. 539–570.

Durnescu, I., and Poledna, S., 2020. Prison Leave in Romania and the Power of Street Level Bureaucrats. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 26, pp. 231–246. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-020-09442-7

Engbo, H.J., 2005. Straffuldbyrdelsesret. 2nd ed. Copenhagen: Jurist og Økonomforbundets Forlag.

Eupretrialrights, 2019. Bringing justice into prison: for a common European approach: White Paper on access to justice for pre‐trial detainees [online]. Available at: http://www.prisonlitigation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/WHITE-PAPER-final-ENG.pdf

Feest, J. and Murayama, M. 2021. Protecting the Innocent Through Criminal Justice. In: J. Feest, ed., Definitionsmacht, Renitenz und Abolitionismus. Wiesbaden: Springer, pp. 47–75. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-28809-9_4

Feest, J., Lesting, W., and Selling, P., 1997. Totale Institution und Rechtsschutz: Eine Untersuchung zum Rechtsschutz im Strafvollzug. Opladen: Westdeutscher. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-90405-8

Galli, T., 2011. Lockerungsbegutachtungen im Strafvollzug. Kritik aus kriminologischer Sicht. Wiesbaden: Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-93212-5

Goerdeler, J., 2021. Aufsichtsbehörde. In: J. Feest, W. Lesting and M. Lindemann, eds., Strafvollzugsgesetze. 8th ed. Cologne: Carl Heymanns, II, § 101.

Graebsch, C., 2014. Kontrolle des Strafvollzugs durch unabhängiges Monitoring und die Prävention von Folter und unmenschlicher oder erniedrigender Behandlung oder Strafe. Forum Strafvollzug, 6, pp. 390–396.

Graebsch, C., 2017a. Precrime und Strafvollzug. Resozialisierungsanspruch und Situation von Gefangenen bei prognoseabhängiger Entlassung. Kritische Justiz 50(2), pp. 166–175. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5771/0023-4834-2017-2-166

Graebsch, C., 2017b. Resozialisierungsauftrag bei Nichtdeutschen. In: H. Cornel, G. Kawamura-Reindl and B.R. Sonnen, eds., Handbuch Resozialisierung, 4th ed. Baden-Baden: Nomos, pp. 433–448.

Graebsch, C., 2021. Ausländische Gefangene. In: J. Feest, W. Lesting and M. Lindemann, eds., Strafvollzugsgesetze. 8th ed. Cologne: Carl Heymanns, II § 42 LandesR, V II, chapter 3.

Graebsch, C., forthcoming. Access to the judge but still not to justice? In: H. de Suremain, C. Graebsch and A. Le Huérou, eds., Prison without violence? Human rights put to the test by prison policies (Ukraine, Russia, Germany, France). Wiesbaden: Springer.

Johnsen, J.T., 2018. Nordic Legal Aid and Access to Justice. In: O.H. Rønning and O. Hammerslev, eds., Outsourcing Legal Aid in the Nordic Welfare States [online]. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 227–267. Available at: https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/454f25b2-9708-4d4b-979c-b2b35f8915a0/1002118.pdf#doi%3A10.1007/978-3-319-46684-2_10

Jordan, B., 2016. Begutachtungsmedizin in Deutschland am Beispiel Bayern. Eine Befragung unter 548 medizinischen und psychologischen Sachverständigen in Bayern [online]. Dissertation. Medizinische Fakultät der Universität München. Available at: https://edoc.ub.uni-muenchen.de/19622/1/Jordan_Benedikt.pdf

Kirs, E., 2021. Complaint procedures and the right to information in prison: A handbook for national preventive mechanisms [online]. Vienna: Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights, in cooperation with the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and the Associazione Antigone. Available at: https://helsinki.hu/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/handbook_complaint_procedures_and_the_right_to_information_hhc.pdf

Knauer, F., 2021. Überwachung des Schriftwechsels. In: J. Feest, W. Lesting and M. Lindemann, eds., Strafvollzugsgesetze. 8th ed. Cologne: Carl Heymanns, LandesR, II § 34.

Kristiansen, B.L., 2018. Legal Aid in Denmark. In: O.H. Rønning and O. Hammerslev, eds., Outsourcing Legal Aid in the Nordic Welfare States [online]. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 99–124. Available at: https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/454f25b2-9708-4d4b-979c-b2b35f8915a0/1002118.pdf#doi%3A10.1007/978-3-319-46684-2_5

Larrauri, E., 2020. Reducing Discretion in the Administration of Prison Leave: In Search of Legitimacy. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research [online], 26, pp. 141–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-019-09424-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-019-09424-4

Leitch, J.A., 2013. Looking for quality: the empirical debate in access to justice research. Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice [online], 31(2), pp. 229–255. Available at: https://doi.org/10.22329/wyaj.v31i2.4421 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22329/wyaj.v31i2.4421

Liebling, A., 2000. Prison officers, policing and the use of discretion. Theoretical Criminology, 4(3), pp. 333–357. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480600004003005

Liebling, A., and Price, D., 2011. Prison officers and the use of discretion. In: L. Gelsthorpe and N. Padfield, eds., Exercising discretion: Decision-making in the criminal justice system and beyond. London/New York: Routledge.

Michaels, R., 2006. The Functional Method of Comparative Law. In: M. Reimann and R. Zimmermann, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law. Oxford University Press, pp. 340–382. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199296064.013.0011

Morgenstern, C., and Dünkel, F., 2018. Monitoring prisons in Germany: The role of the European Court of Human Rights. In: G. Cliquennois and H. de Suremain, eds., Monitoring Penal Policy in Europe. London: Routledge, pp. 17–35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315542034-2

Nelken, D., 2010. Comparative Criminal Justice. London: Sage.

Nelken, D., and Feest, J., 2001. Adapting Legal Cultures. Oxford: Hart.

Rhode, D.L., 2013. Access to Justice: An Agenda for Legal Education and Research. Journal of Legal Education, 62, pp. 531–50.

Robert, L., and Larrauri, E., 2020. Prison Leave Across Europe: Some Reasons to Think About it. Kriminologie – Das Online/Criminology – The Online Journal [online], 2(2), pp. 251–263. Available at: https://doi.org/10.18716/ojs/krimoj/2020.2.9

Schoultz, I., 2018. Legal Aid in Sweden. In: O.H. Rønning and O. Hammerslev, eds., Outsourcing Legal Aid in the Nordic Welfare States [online]. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 43–76. Available at: https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46684-2_3

f25b2-9708-4d4b-979c-b2b35f8915a0/1002118.pdf#doi%3A10.1007/978-3-319-46684-2_3

Spader, D.J., 1984. Rule of law v. rule of man: The search for the golden zigzag between conflicting fundamental values. In: Journal of Criminal Justice, 12, 4, 1984, pp. 379–394. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0047-2352(84)90050-3

Storgaard, A., 2020. Prison Leave in Denmark: How a Tradition of Combining Rehabilitation with Discipline Developed into Putting Access to Justice at Risk. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 26(2), pp. 213–229. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-020-09436-5

Zweigert, K., and Kötz, H., 1998. Introduction to comparative law. Trans.: T. Weir. 3rd ed. Oxford University Press.

Argitaratuta

2023-07-28

##submission.howToCite##

Graebsch, C. eta Storgaard, A. (2023) «Prison leave and access to justice: Some insight into Danish and German law in action», Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 13(4), or. 1298–1329. doi: 10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1355.