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Welcome to the EuroPris Knowledge Management System. The table below shows questions and responses from European National Agencies. Select a question for more information or use the filters on the left to narrow down questions based on Agency or Category.
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Introduction: There is a practice in some (European) countries, regarding conditional release of sentenced inmates (convicts), that the conditional release procedure in some cases is “automated”. That can mean either that the procedure is started automatically when an inmate meets predefined legal criteria (no formal request to start the procedure is needed) and someone (usually the court) then makes a final decision/approval; or that the whole process is automated from the beginning till the end and no formal approval is necessary. In the Czech Republic, a conditional release procedure must be commenced by a formal request. The court must, at the end, make a formal decision about granting the conditional release (although the prison has a strong “advisory” voice through its recommendation and prisoner assessment). The Prison Service and the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic would like to find out, what the practice looks like in your jurisdiction.
It is regulated on Prison Rules and Prison Code, and it was recently changed in 2015 through a legal change in Penal Code. Inmates may ask for it or may even refuse it, but it is not applied in a automatical way.
Does the court have to approve the conditional release at the end of the procedure?The final approval always depend on the court, and the proposal is made by Treatment Joint Boards.
If the procedure is not automated, does it mean that the conditional release procedure can be set into motion only by some stakeholder who has this power (prison director, state prosecutor, a prisoner himself etc.)?The conditional release once 3/4 of the sentenced is served, but the inmate has the right to refuse it, so it is not mandatory.
Are there parole commissions in your jurisdiction? If so, do they have advisory role only / or do they have “hard” power, i.e. can decide about conditional release themselves?No parole commissions are in charge of any advisory role. Proposals, in a possitive or negative sense, emerge from prison Treatment Joint Boards, and are sent to the court.
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The automated conditional release procedure may be applied after 3/4 of the prison sentence has been served by imposing intensive supervision. The automated conditional release shall not be applied in the following cases: 1) on inmates whose sentence has been partially suspended and whose conditional release has been revoked and who have been sentenced by a court to serve the remainder of the sentence in prison, they may be conditionally released, if they are at low criminal risk or have made obvious progress in reducing their criminal risk and have served 1 year of their sentence from the date of the court order suspending the sentence or revoking the conditional release and referring them to prison; 2) on inmates serving sentences for very serious crimes, i.e., crimes against human health, crimes and criminal offences against human freedom, crimes and criminal offences against freedom of sexual self-determination and inviolability, crimes against public security; 3) inmates who are at high criminal risk and who are not progressing towards reducing their criminal risk; 4) for inmates who have not served a penalty imposed for an offence committed during their sentence, the application of conditional release shall be postponed until the penalty has been served and for 3 months afterwards.
Does the court have to approve the conditional release at the end of the procedure?The automated conditional release (see above) needs no court approval. Moreover, offenders sentenced for reckless crimes, as well as minors and inmates sentenced up to 4 years, shall be released by a decision of the Parole Commission, provided that no objection has been raised by the prosecutor. In other cases, conditional release shall be granted by the local district court decision approving the decision of the Parole Commission to grant conditional release to an inmate. Should the court disapprove with the decision of the Parole Commission to grant conditional release, an inmate concerned shall not be conditionally released.
If the procedure is not automated, does it mean that the conditional release procedure can be set into motion only by some stakeholder who has this power (prison director, state prosecutor, a prisoner himself etc.)?A prison shall initiate the conditional release procedure by submitting to the Parole Commission a case report, which shall include information on an inmate’s social rehabilitation process, his/her criminal risk and progress in reducing it, 20 working days before an inmate's possible conditional release.
Are there parole commissions in your jurisdiction? If so, do they have advisory role only / or do they have “hard” power, i.e. can decide about conditional release themselves?Advisory role mostly. When the Parole Commission adopts a decision to grant conditional release to an inmate with a sentence of up to 4 years, a copy of the decision shall be sent to the public prosecutor. After the expiry of the 7-day time limit for appealing against the decision of the Parole Board (if the decision has not been appealed against), the institution shall release the inmate. The decision of the Parole Board to grant parole to an inmate with a sentence of over 4 years shall be submitted to the local district court and shall be sent to the public prosecutor.
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In Finland if a person is serving a fixed-term sentence of imprisonment, he will receive a decision of term of punishment, where the date of conditional release is defined. The decision is made by Enforcement Unit of Prison and Probation Service after the person has arrived in prison. A person serving a fixed-term sentence of imprisonment is conditionally released once he or she has served two-thirds of the sentence. A prisoner who during the five years preceding the offence has not served a sentence of imprisonment in prison is conditionally released once he or she has served half of the sentence. A person serving a fixed-term sentence of imprisonment for an offence committed below the age of 21 is conditionally released once he or she has served half of the sentence A prisoner who has committed an offence below the age of 21 and who has not served a sentence of imprisonment in prison during the three years preceding the offence is conditionally released once he or she has served one-third of the sentence.
Does the court have to approve the conditional release at the end of the procedure?The court only approves the conditional release decisions when so called long term prisoners are in question. For example a person sentenced to life imprisonment may be conditionally released at the earliest once he or she has served twelve years in prison. A person sentenced to life imprisonment for an offence committed below the age of 21 may be conditionally released at the earliest once he or she has served ten years in prison. The court can disagree and decide otherwise what other stakeholders have recommendated.
If the procedure is not automated, does it mean that the conditional release procedure can be set into motion only by some stakeholder who has this power (prison director, state prosecutor, a prisoner himself etc.)?The decision that defines the date of conditional release is made by Enforcement Unit of Prison and Probation Service after the person has arrived in prison. The power to make the decision is prescribed by law.
Are there parole commissions in your jurisdiction? If so, do they have advisory role only / or do they have “hard” power, i.e. can decide about conditional release themselves?The parole commissions are not used in criminal prosedure and there are no laws of such matter excisting in Finland.
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The Norwegian Correctional Service shall not decide a conditional release a convicted person, after an overall assessment, if the circumstances make such a release inadvisable. The Norwegian Correctional Service shall assign particular importance to the convicted person's conduct while serving the sentence, and to whether there is reason to assume that the convicted person will commit new criminal acts during the probationary period. Conditional release can be given at two third of the time served, but at least 60 days of sentencing. The procedures are incorporated to the inmates future planning system, and there is usually a close collaboration with contact officer ensuring the application to be made and delivered. The case for conditional release is formally taken by the prison governor. This is an overall assessment in each case. There is an individual judgement made where many factors are taken into consideration. The decision can be appealed to the regional level. In the next appeal, it could be brought to the Parlimentary ombudsman or in last option the ministry on behalf of the prison can be litigated.
Does the court have to approve the conditional release at the end of the procedure?The decitions is taken by the local prison governor, and is a part of a governmental authority- not a court decition.
If the procedure is not automated, does it mean that the conditional release procedure can be set into motion only by some stakeholder who has this power (prison director, state prosecutor, a prisoner himself etc.)?Inmates have to start the procedures.
Are there parole commissions in your jurisdiction? If so, do they have advisory role only / or do they have “hard” power, i.e. can decide about conditional release themselves?No. The decition is authorized to the local prison governor.
No, the current legislation of our Criminal Code knows only the discretionary/ arbitrary system (model) of conditional release (discretionary release), which is standardly based on an individual decision of the authorized body assessing the fulfillment of the formal and material conditions necessary for conditional release. However, we are currently working on change of this situation and in the forthcoming amendment to the Criminal Code we expect the introduction of a mixed system (model) of conditional release (mixed release), based on a combination of an automatic conditional release for short-term sentences (mandatory/ statutory release) and a discretionary system for other sentences. Under the proposed legislation, under the system of automatic conditional release, the convicted person is conditionally released after serving half of the unconditional prison sentence imposed, if the length of the sentence imposed for the offence does not exceed one year and at the same time the following conditions are met: - it is not the execution of a prison sentence which was ordered after a decision on failure to comply with the probationary period, after a decision on the imposition of a substitute prison sentence, or the conversion of a sentence of compulsory work or house arrest into a prison sentence, - it is not a prison sentence imposed for a violent crime, - the convicted person has not previously served a prison sentence, - the convicted person has not been ordered to serve another prison sentence; and - the convicted person has not been imposed with disciplinary punishment in the prison sentence.
Does the court have to approve the conditional release at the end of the procedure?Under the current legislation, the court always decides on the conditional release of a convicted person. In the proposed legislation on automatic conditional release, the convicted person will be always conditionally released for short-term sentences once the formal conditions laid down by law have been fulfilled.
If the procedure is not automated, does it mean that the conditional release procedure can be set into motion only by some stakeholder who has this power (prison director, state prosecutor, a prisoner himself etc.)?Yes, in general, a request or proposal for conditional release can be made by several bodies - the prosecutor, the prison governor of the prison in which the prison sentence is served, an interest association of citizens or even the convicted person himself. However, there is an exception to the above general rule in the form of the exclusive right of proposal of the prison governor for the conditional release of a first-time prisoner. While in the standard process, the above-mentioned bodies may file an request/proposal for conditional for a convict after 2/3 of the prison sentence served, the prison governor may file a proposal for conditional release after 1/2 of the prison sentence served, provided that the convict concerned is serving a prison sentence for the first time and there are electronic monitoring possibilities for him during the probationary period.
Are there parole commissions in your jurisdiction? If so, do they have advisory role only / or do they have “hard” power, i.e. can decide about conditional release themselves?No, the current legislation of our Criminal Code does not provide for the institute of parole commissions. However, the introduction of parole commissions is a conceptual goal in the field of prison system approved by the Government of the Slovak Republic (the deadline for implementation is by the end of 2030).
The procedure for granting conditional release (hereinafter: CR) can be found in the Act of 17 May 2006 on the external legal status of those sentenced to a custodial sentence and the rights granted to the victim in the framework of the sentencing modalities. The law sets time and granting conditions for a CR to be granted. CR always requires individual assessment and is thus not automated in Belgium. Preliminary remark: with regard to the allocation of sentencing modalities, the law makes a distinction between convicts with a sentence total of less or more than 3 years. Only since 1 September 2022, the law became applicable to convicts with a sentence total of more than 2 years to 3 years. From (at the latest) 1 September 2023, the law will apply to convicts with a sentence total of 2 years or less. Until then, those convicted, and those covered by the law's transitional provision, remain subject to a more flexible system of “provisional release”. They will usually be released almost automatically after a time limit set in the applicable circular.
Does the court have to approve the conditional release at the end of the procedure?The decision to grant a CR is made by the Sentence Application Court (for convicts with a sentence total of more than 2 years to 3 years, it is the Sentence Application Judge acting alone), as long as the convict meets certain time conditions and as long as there are no counter-indications that cannot be met by imposing special conditions. The Sentence Application Court is composed of a judge and two assessors, one specialized in prison matters and the other in social rehabilitation. An advice from the prison administration and the public prosecutor are always required for convicts with a sentence total of 3 years or more. If necessary, the psychosocial service may also be asked to prepare a note or a summary information report, or a social survey may be requested from the houses of justice. It is on the basis of the file and advices that the judge or court will make an entirely independent and autonomous decision on the CR.
If the procedure is not automated, does it mean that the conditional release procedure can be set into motion only by some stakeholder who has this power (prison director, state prosecutor, a prisoner himself etc.)?It is the prison that informs the convict of being in the time conditions to apply for a CR, but the procedure can only be initiated on the basis of a written request from the convict himself.
Are there parole commissions in your jurisdiction? If so, do they have advisory role only / or do they have “hard” power, i.e. can decide about conditional release themselves?As explained above, it is a Sentence Application judge or a Sentence Application Court that has the power to grant CR. This is a "hard" power. Apart from the distinction made between the level of the sentence (max 3 years or more than 3 years), there is no other difference. The Minister of Justice has the power to grant, under certain conditions, other types of leave to the prisoner but of a much shorter duration such as leave for a period of maximum 16 hours or prison leave for a period of 4 x 36 hours per quarter.
The procedure for granting conditional release (hereinafter: CR) can be found in the Act of 17 May 2006 on the external legal status of those sentenced to a custodial sentence and the rights granted to the victim in the framework of the sentencing modalities. The law sets time and granting conditions for a CR to be granted. CR always requires individual assessment and is thus not automated in Belgium. Preliminary remark: with regard to the allocation of sentencing modalities, the law makes a distinction between convicts with a sentence total of less or more than 3 years. Only since 1 September 2022, the law became applicable to convicts with a sentence total of more than 2 years to 3 years. From (at the latest) 1 September 2023, the law will apply to convicts with a sentence total of 2 years or less. Until then, those convicted, and those covered by the law's transitional provision, remain subject to a more flexible system of “provisional release”. They will usually be released almost automatically after a time limit set in the applicable circular.
Does the court have to approve the conditional release at the end of the procedure?The decision to grant a CR is made by the Sentence Application Court (for convicts with a sentence total of more than 2 years to 3 years, it is the Sentence Application Judge acting alone), as long as the convict meets certain time conditions and as long as there are no counter-indications that cannot be met by imposing special conditions. The Sentence Application Court is composed of a judge and two assessors, one specialized in prison matters and the other in social rehabilitation. An advice from the prison administration and the public prosecutor are always required for convicts with a sentence total of 3 years or more. If necessary, the psychosocial service may also be asked to prepare a note or a summary information report, or a social survey may be requested from the houses of justice. It is on the basis of the file and advices that the judge or court will make an entirely independent and autonomous decision on the CR.
If the procedure is not automated, does it mean that the conditional release procedure can be set into motion only by some stakeholder who has this power (prison director, state prosecutor, a prisoner himself etc.)?It is the prison that informs the convict of being in the time conditions to apply for a CR, but the procedure can only be initiated on the basis of a written request from the convict himself.
Are there parole commissions in your jurisdiction? If so, do they have advisory role only / or do they have “hard” power, i.e. can decide about conditional release themselves?As explained above, it is a Sentence Application judge or a Sentence Application Court that has the power to grant CR. This is a "hard" power. Apart from the distinction made between the level of the sentence (max 3 years or more than 3 years), there is no other difference. The Minister of Justice has the power to grant, under certain conditions, other types of leave to the prisoner but of a much shorter duration such as leave for a period of maximum 16 hours or prison leave for a period of 4 x 36 hours per quarter.
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A conditional release measure may be applied at different stages of a convicted person's sentence and under different procedures. Subject to the conditional release that may be granted under the automatic release procedure applicable from 1 January 2023 (see below), the procedure for the adjustment of a sentence for the purpose of granting conditional release is not automatic in France. In fact, this procedure is initiated by the submission of a request for sentence adjustment by the convicted person (whether detained or free), requesting the benefit of a conditional release measure. Conventional conditional release The convicted person is eligible for conditional release when the length of the sentence served is at least equal to the length of the sentence remaining to be served (mid-sentence rule), up to a limit of 15 or 20 years in the event of legal recidivism, and subject to certain substantive conditions being met (serious efforts at social rehabilitation, exercise of a professional activity or temporary work placement or employment, attendance at school or vocational training, essential participation in family life, the need to undergo medical treatment, efforts to compensate civil parties, involvement in any other serious integration or reintegration project, undergoing medical treatment in the event that the person has been convicted of a crime or offence for which socio-judicial monitoring is incurred and treatment is possible and proposed by the JAP pursuant to Articles 717-1 and 763-7 of the CPP). In the case of a life sentence, the trial period is set at 18 years and 22 years in the event of legal recidivism. Parole may also be granted one year before these probation periods if it is accompanied by semi-liberty, external placement or home detention under probationary electronic surveillance. Specific cases of conditional release The French Code of Criminal Procedure provides for specific cases of conditional release with different eligibility conditions: - the so-called "parental parole" provided for in Article 729-3 of the CPP: this may be requested by the convicted person if the sentence or the remainder of the sentence is less than or equal to 4 years. The convicted person must : either exercise parental authority over a child under the age of 10 and have habitual residence or be a woman who is more than twelve weeks pregnant. Persons convicted of a crime or offence committed against a minor are not eligible for this procedure. - conditional release for persons over 70 years of age provided for in Article 729, last paragraph, of the CPP: this may be requested by the prisoners concerned without any time limit. The person must meet the age conditions and his or her integration must be assured. There must be no serious risk of a repeat offence or the release must not be likely to cause a serious disturbance to public order; - the medical parole provided for in Article 729 of the CPP: this may be requested by the convicted person without any time limit, provided that the person concerned has had his or her sentence suspended on the basis of Article 720-1-1 of the CPP for at least one year. The convicted person must be able to prove that he or she has received appropriate treatment; - Conditional release "expulsion" provided for in articles 729-2 and D. 535 4° of the CPP: this measure allows for the early release of a foreign national detainee under the condition of the execution of a measure leading to his or her departure from national territory. It can be ordered, even without the consent of the person concerned, when the latter is the subject of a judicial or administrative measure for removal from French territory. This procedure cannot, however, be considered to be automated, as it is subject to the discretion of the courts responsible for enforcing sentences and is dependent on the execution of the removal order In the first three specific cases, the procedure is initiated by a request from the convicted person. Compulsory release The French legislator has established the principle of granting so-called 'classic' release under constraint (Article 720 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). This measure allows any prisoner who has served two-thirds of a sentence or several sentences of up to five years in total to serve the remainder under the regime of house arrest under electronic surveillance, semi-liberty, work release or parole. The decision is taken by the enforcement judge (JAP) after consulting the enforcement commission (CAP). There is no legal requirement for an integration or reintegration project. Although this measure differs from the above-mentioned cases of conditional release, and more generally from sentence adjustments, in that it is systematic, it is still subject to the consent of the convicted person in detention. As of 1 January 2023, the legislator has created an additional mechanism known as automatic release. This measure will apply when the remainder of the sentence to be served by the convicted person is less than or equal to three months. It will apply to convicted prisoners who have not benefited from either an adjustment of their sentence or a "classic" release under constraint, whether they have refused it or the enforcement court has refused to grant it to them. The decision is also taken by the sentence enforcement judge (JAP) after the opinion of the sentence enforcement commission (CAP). The consent of the detained convicted person is irrelevant for the granting of this measure. With regard to detained convicts who are eligible for this measure, certain exclusions are provided for, either because it is materially impossible to provide accommodation, or because of the nature of the convictions handed down against them, or because of the existence of disciplinary sanctions handed down during their detention
Does the court have to approve the conditional release at the end of the procedure?Applications for conditional release from convicted persons themselves are subject to the sovereign assessment of the enforcement courts, which may grant or reject them. These requests are examined during an adversarial debate, during which the advisory opinion of the representative of the prison administration, the prosecution's submissions and the observations of the convicted person and/or his lawyer are heard. With regard to release under constraint, the conditional release measure must be specifically chosen by the enforcement magistrate from among the various possible enforcement regimes.
If the procedure is not automated, does it mean that the conditional release procedure can be set into motion only by some stakeholder who has this power (prison director, state prosecutor, a prisoner himself etc.)?The convicted person, whether detained or free, must submit a request for sentence adjustment in the form of conditional release. In the context of conditional release, the prison registry, under the supervision of the judicial authorities, registers the examination of the situation of convicted persons who meet the time limit conditions with the CAP. A specific provision is also made for parole, allowing the JAP, at least once a year, and even in the absence of a request from the persons concerned, to examine in good time the situation of prisoners eligible for parole so that they can be admitted to the measure as soon as they meet the conditions laid down by law. However, this article does not establish an automated procedure, insofar as its sole purpose is to examine the situation of the convicted person, without obliging the JAP to take a decision (Article D. 523 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).
Are there parole commissions in your jurisdiction? If so, do they have advisory role only / or do they have “hard” power, i.e. can decide about conditional release themselves?When parole was introduced, the law entrusted the decision to the Minister of the Interior, who was then in charge of the prison administration. The latter was assisted by a parole advisory committee created on 16 February 1888. The laws of 17 July 1970 and 29 December 1972 gave the enforcement judge the task of deciding on the conditional release of those sentenced to terms that met the time limit. The enforcement courts therefore examine applications for the granting of conditional release and decide whether to grant or reject them. There is no longer a parole committee or commission under French law.