Suchergebnisse

Every State in the modern world has a prison system, established and purportedly administered in terms of formal legal rules. Most such systems house both sentenced and unsentenced prisoners and have minimum standards and rules that are common to all prisoners. Although there is now a considerable body of international law that aims to provide a human rights framework for the recognition of the rights of all prisoners, the universality of the prison and the ubiquity of international human rights law have not meant that there is international consensus about what imprisonment should be used for and how prisons should be administered. The prison as a penal institution has remained firmly rooted in the nation State and in national legal systems. In this respect penal institutions are different from other detention facilities, most particularly those for prisoners of war, which have long been governed by the rules of international humanitarian law.

More people are serving life sentences in Scotland as a proportion of the national population than in any other country in Europe. Yet Scotland claims to adopt a welfarist rather than a penal approach to criminal justice. This paper uses a wide range of data to explain the factors underpinning this paradox. It focuses on key aspects of the imposition and implementation of life sentences, providing, for the first time, an analysis that goes behind headline figures. The paper concludes that, notwithstanding the commitment to welfare in penal policy, the high rate of life imprisonment is driven by both increased punitiveness and attempts to reduce the risk that serious crime poses to society. Finally, the paper outlines strategies for reducing the use of life imprisonment, which may be more effective because they pay close attention to the Scottish penal context, but which have relevance for other jurisdictions seeking to reverse penal excess.

This article considers the impact that constitutional law can have on penal policy through an analysis of current developments in the law governing youth prisons in Germany. It sketches the emergence of constitutional guidelines for the development of German prison law generally and then pays close attention to a recent decision of the German Federal Constitutional Court on the constitutionality of current provisions on the implementation of youth imprisonment. The implications of the judgment of the Court for future German legislation in this area are outlined. Particular attention is paid to the emphasis that the legislator is expected to place on international minimum standards and to the role research on treatment plays in setting limits to legislative discretion. The conclusion considers the wider implications for penal policy of combining a formal rule that constitutionally guaranteed rights of prisoners can only be restricted by primary legislation, with substantive constitutional requirements for the objectives of penal legislation and for how these objectives should be met. It argues that such a rule is potentially applicable not only in Germany but also in other countries with similar constitutional traditions.

1. Japan- Life Imprisonment in Japan: The existing Legal System and Alternative Sanctions to the Death Penalty -- 2. China- Life Imprisonment in China: Law and Practice -- 3. India- Life Imprisonment in India: A Life Without Hope? -- 4. Hong Kong -- 5. South Korea- Life Imprisonment in South Korea: Law and Practice in the Shadow of the Death Penalty -- 6. Vietnam- Life Imprisonment and Human Rights: Reflections on the Vietnamese Context -- 7. Bangladesh- Ensuring a Constructive Prison Experience for Life Sentenced Prisoners in Bangladesh -- 8. Indonesia- Imposing and Enforcing Life Imprisonment in Indonesia -- 9. Malaysia- Reviewing Life Imprisonment in Malaysia: Prospects for Law Reform? -- 10. Singapore- Life Imprisonment in Singapore: Legal and Sociological Perspectives -- 11. Australia- Attempting to Restore a Right to Hope of Release to Life Imprisonment in Australia: The Phuong Ngo Case -- 12. New Zealand- Mapping Life Imprisonment and Indeterminate Sentencing in New Zealand -- 13. Conclusion- Asian Life Imprisonment in Worldwide Perspective. .