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European and United Nations monitoring of penal and prison policies as a source of an inverted panopticon?

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Notes

  1. Adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Geneva on 30 August 1955, and approved by the Economic and Social Council by its resolutions 663 C (XXIV) of 31 July 1957 and 2076 (LXII) of 13 May 1977.

  2. Nelson Mandela Rules, 17 December 2015, UN-Doc A/Res/70/175.

  3. The OPCAT was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations (57/99) on 18 December 2002 and came into force in June 2006.

  4. The OPCAT was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations (57/99) on 18 December 2002 and came into force in June 2006.

  5. Among the EU’s 27 Member States in December 2013, three had not yet signed the Optional Protocol: Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia; three signatory countries had not yet ratified the Optional Protocol: Belgium, Finland and Greece.

  6. UN Committee against Torture, Draft Consideration of reports submitted by States parties (France) under article 19 of the Convention, Concluding observations of the Committee against Torture, Forty-fourth session (26 April–14 May 2010), CAT/C/FRA/CO/4–6/CRP.1. The Committee welcomes France’s ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention and “the subsequent establishment, under the Act of 30 October 2007 (Act n°2007–1545), of the post of Inspector-General (Contrôleur général) of places of deprivation of liberty, which constitutes a national preventive mechanism within the meaning of the Optional Protocol”

  7. UN Committee against Torture, Consideration of reports submitted by States parties (Germany) under article 19 of the Convention, Concluding observations of the Committee against Torture, Forty-seventh session (31 October–25 November 2011), 12 December 2011 CAT/C/DEU/CO/5. The Committee welcomes Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, on 4 December 2008 and “the establishment of the National Agency for the Prevention of Torture, composed of the Federal Agency and the Joint Commission of the Länder, which has been mandated to serve as independent national preventive mechanism under the Optional Protocol to the Convention”.

  8. UN Committee against Torture, Concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, adopted by the Committee at its fiftieth session (6–31 May 2013), 24 June 2013 CAT/C/GBR/CO/5.

  9. The Inspector-General of places of deprivation of liberty who is nominated for six years has a staff composed of 15 permanent inspectors and 17 independent contractors acting as inspectors. See http://www.cglpl.fr/missions-et-actions/presentation-de-lequipe/

  10. In addition to the Joint Commission of the Länder, the petitions committees are entitled in some of the Länder to make unannounced visits to places of detention.

  11. The UK counts at least three levels of independent inspection for prisons, each one operating independently from the others:

    • At local level, monitoring boards made up of volunteers recruited from the general population carry out at least two or three visits (of the prisons for which they have been designated) per week on a continual basis.

    • At national level, the National Prison Inspectorates carry out programmes of inspections for prisons. In addition, the national prison ombudsmen and in Scotland – the Independent Prisons Complaints Commissioner – investigate individual complaints lodged by prisoners.

  12. ECtHR, M. vs. Germany, 17 December 2009, 19,359/04.

  13. ECtHR, Vinter v. UK, 9 July 2013, 66,069/09; ECtHR, Murray v. The Netherlands, 26 April 2016, No 10511/10.

  14. Council of Europe, Resolution (2004)3 of the Committee of Ministers on Judgments Revealing an Underlying Systemic Problem, 12 May 2004.

  15. See ECtHR, Ananyev and Others v. Russia, 10 January 2012, 42,525/07 and 60,800/08; ECtHR, W.D. v. Belgium; 6 December 2016, 73,548/13; ECtHR, Bamouhammad v. Belgium, 17 November 2015, 47,687/13; ECtHR, Vasilescu v. Belgium, 25 November 2014, 64,682/12.

  16. ECtHR, Rumpf v. Germany, 2 September 2010, 46,344/06; Sürmeli v. Germany, 8 June 2006, 77,529/01; ECtHR, Athanasiou and others v. Greece, 21 December 2010; ECtHR, Michelioudakis v. Greece and Glykantzi v. Greece, 3 April 2012 and 30 October 2012; ECtHR, Dimitrov and Hamanov v. Bulgaria and Finger v. Bulgaria, 10 May 2011; ECtHR, Rutkowski and others v. Poland, 7 July 2015.

  17. ECtHR, Greens and MT v. United Kingdom, 23 November 2010, 60,041 and 60,054.

  18. ECtHR, Torreggiani and others v. Italy, 8 January 2013, 43,517/09; ECtHR, W.D. v. Belgium; 6 December 2016, 73,548/13; ECtHR, Vasilescu v. Belgium, 25 November 2014, 64,682/12.

  19. ECtHR, Ananyev and others v. Russia; 10 January 2012, 42,525/07 and 60,800/08; ECtHR, Norbert Sikorski v. Poland, 22 October 2009, 17,599/05.

  20. See ECtHR, Neshkov and others v Bulgaria, 27 January, 36,925/10, 21,487/12, 72,893/12, 73,196/12, 77,718/12 and 9717/13 27; ECtHR, Ananyev and others v. Russia, 10 January 2012, §197; ECtHR, Torreggiani and others v. Italy, 8 January 2013, 43,517/09; ECtHR, Norbert Sikorski v. Poland, 22 October 2009, 17,599/05, §158.

  21. Ibid.

  22. Recommendation Rec(2006)2 adopted on 11 January 2006 by the Committee of Ministers.

  23. European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC), Council for Penological Co-operation (PC-CP 4), 14th meeting of the Working Group, 30 January – 1February 2017, PC-CP (2017) 4Strasbourg, 3 February 2017.

  24. Recommendation CM/Rec(2008)11 adopted on 5 November 2008 by the Committee of Ministers.

  25. Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)1 adopted on 20 January 2010.

  26. See http://www.cpt.coe.int/en/about.htm

  27. See the Recommendation 1743 (2006)1 “Memorandum of understanding between the Council of Europe and the European Union” adopted by the Assembly on 13 April 2006 (14th sitting) and the Assembly debate on 13 April 2006 (14th Sitting), Doc.10892, report of the Political Affairs Committee, rapporteur: Mr. Kosachev.

  28. Commission Green Paper, on the application of EU criminal justice legislation in the field of detention - Strengthening mutual trust in the European judicial area - of 14 June 2011 (COM(2011) 327 final), pp.11–12. See also the Peer-to-Peer II Project co-funded by the European Commission and the Council of Europe.

  29. Council Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA of 27 November 2008 on the application of 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 in the European Union (OJ L 327, 5.12.2008, pp. 27–46). See also the Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation by the Member States of the Framework Decisions 2008/909/JHA, 2008/947/JHA and 2009/829/JHA on the mutual recognition of judicial decisions on custodial sentences or measures involving deprivation of liberty, on probation decisions and alternative sanctions and on supervision measures as an alternative to provisional detention (COM(2014) 57 final of 5.2.2014). See the Commission Staff Working Document — Tables ‘State of play’ and ‘Declarations’ accompanying the document: report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation by the Member States of the Framework Decisions 2008/909/JHA, 2008/947/JHA and 2009/829/JHA on the mutual recognition of judicial decisions on custodial sentences or measures involving deprivation of liberty, on probation decisions and alternative sanctions and on supervision measures as an alternative to provisional detention (SWD(2014) 34 final of 5.2.2014). See lastly the Commission Decision 2014/858/EU of 1 December 2014 on the notification by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of its wish to participate in acts of the Union in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters adopted before the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon and which are not part of the Schengen acquis (OJ L 345, 1.12.2014, pp. 6–9)

  30. see Title V of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

  31. See for instance http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:l3ELgIajP9MJ:ec.europa.eu/justice/newsroom/files/summaries_selected_2013_ag_jpen_en.pdf+&cd=3&hl=fr&ct=clnk&gl=be&client=firefox-b

  32. See for instance JUST/2013/JPEN/AG/4489; JUST/2013/JPEN/AG/4539; JUST/2013/JPEN/AG/4548; JUST/2013/JPEN/AG/4573; JUST/2013/JPEN/AG/4592.

  33. See JUST/2011/JPEN/AG/ 2959.

  34. See for instance JUST/2012/JPEN/2922 and JUST/2013/JPEN/AG/4545.

  35. See for instance JUST/2013/JPEN/AG/4510.

  36. See for instance, Resolution of 7 December 2011 (2011/2897(RSP), B7–0687/2011) following its resolution of 18 January 1996 on poor conditions in prisons in the European Union (OJ C 32, 5.2.1996, p.102) and its resolution of 17 December 1998 on prison conditions in the European Union: improvements and alternative penalties (OJ C 98, 9.4.1999, p.299. A4–0369/98).

  37. Commission Green Paper, op. cit.

  38. Commission Green Paper, op. cit., p. 1.

  39. See http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/libe/home.html#menuzone

  40. Visits of Italian prisons by the Delegation of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, 26–28 March 2014.

  41. Report from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs delegation to Italy on the situations of prisons and correction centres, 9 April 2014, European Parliament.

  42. ECtHR, Torreggiani and others v. Italy, 8 January 2013, 43,517/09.

  43. CJEU, Aranyosi-Căldăraru, 5 April 2016, C 404/15 et C 659/15 PPU.

  44. ECtHR, Torreggiani and others v. Italy, 8 January 2013, 43,517/09.

  45. ECtHR, Canali v. France, 25 April 2013, 40,119/09.

  46. See, in part., ECtHR, Ananyev and others v. Russia, §197; ECtHR, Norbert Sikorski v. Poland, 22 October 2009, 17,599/05, §158;

  47. ECtHR, Vinter v. UK, 9 July 2013, 66,069/09.

  48. ECtHR, Ramirez Sanchez v. France, 4 July 2006, 59,450/00.

  49. ECtHR, Khider v. France, 9 July 2009, 39,364/05; Payet v. France, 20 January 2011, 19,606/08.

  50. ECtHR, Alder v Germany, 4 October 1989, 42,078/02; Osman v UK, 28 October 1998, 23,452/94; Keenan v UK, 3 April 2001, 27,229/95; Paul and Audrey Edwards v UK, 14 March 2002, 46,477/99; Trubnikov v Russia, 5 July 2005, 49,790/99; Taïs v France, 1 June 2006, 39,922/03; Renolde v France, 16 October 2008, 5608/05; De Donder and De Clippel v Belgium, 6 December 2011, 8595/06; Ketreb v France, 19 July 2012, 38,447/09.

  51. ECtHR, Campbell and Fell v. UK, 28 June 1984, 7819/77; Payet v. France, 20 January 2011, 19,606/08; M. v. Germany, 17 December 2009, 19,359/04.

  52. ECtHR, Stafford v UK, 24 April 2002, 46,295/99.

  53. ECtHR, Stafford v UK, 24 April 2002, 46,295/99; Clift v UK, 13 July 2010, 7205/07.

  54. ECtHR, Weeks v UK, 2 March 1987, 9787/82; Thynne and others v UK, 25 October 1990, 11,787/85.

  55. ECtHR, Weeks v UK, 2 March 1987, 9787/82; Thynne and others v UK, 25 October 1990, 11,787/85.

  56. ECtHR, Van Droogenbroeck v. Belgium, 24 juin 1982, 7906/77.

  57. ECtHR, Aerts v. Belgium, 30 July 1998, 61/1997/845/1051; De Donder and De Clippel v Belgium, 6 December 2011, 8595/06; L.B. v. Belgium, 2 October 2012, 22,831/08; Claes v. Belgium, 10 January 2013, 43,418/09; Dufoort v. Belgium, 10 January 2013, 43,653/09; Swennen v. Belgium, 10 January 2013, 53,448/10.

  58. ECtHR, Aerts v. Belgium, 30 July 1998, 61/1997/845/1051; Mouisel v. France, 14 November 2002, 67,263/01; Rivière v. France, 11 July 2006, 33,834/03; G. v. France, 23 February 2012, 27,244/09; Lankaster v. Belgium, 9 January 2014, 22,283/10.

  59. L.B. v. Belgium, 2 October 2012, 22,831/08; Claes v. Belgium, 10 January 2013, 43,418/09; Dufoort v. Belgium, 10 January 2013, 43,653/09; Swennen v. Belgium, 10 January 2013, 53,448/10.

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Cliquennois, G., Snacken, S. European and United Nations monitoring of penal and prison policies as a source of an inverted panopticon?. Crime Law Soc Change 70, 1–18 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-017-9716-0

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