Probation Measures and Alternative Sanctions in Europe: From the 1964 Convention to the 2008 Framework Decision
| DOI | 10.1177/203228441300400109 |
| Author | Suliane Neveu |
| Published date | 01 March 2013 |
| Date | 01 March 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
134 Intersentia
PROBATION MEASURES AND ALTERNATIVE
SANCTIONS IN EUROPE: FROM THE
1964CONVENTION TO THE 2008
FRAMEWORK DECISION
S N*
ABSTRACT
In 2008, the Council of the EU adopted the Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA of
27 November 2008 on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to
judgments and probation decisions with a view to the supervision of probation
measures and alternative sanctions, subsequently amended by the Framework
Decision 2009/299/JHA of 26February 2009. It replaces the 1964 Council of Europe
Convention on the supervision of C onditionally Sentenced or Conditionally Released
O enders betwee n Member States. is ar ticle observes how the new instrument will
be more e ective than the Convent ion on the supervision: a more e cient procedure
would better achieve the objective of rehabilitation an d should reduce discrimination
in the granting of conditional measures to foreign sentenced persons. Furthermore,
the article identi es some other interests of sentenced persons in the procedure and
examines whether the Framework Deci sion takes these interests into account.
Keywords: classical judicial cooperation; cross-border execution of judgments;
mutual recognition; rehabilitation of sentenced persons; supervision of probation
measures and alternat ive sanctions
In 1964, the Council of Europe adopted a Convention on the Supervision of
Conditionally Sentenced or Conditionally Released O enders.1 e goal of this
Convention was to provide possibilities for those foreign o enders to leave the
territory of the sentencing state under the condition that adequate control would be
* PhD Candidate, Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la déviance et la pénalité (CRID&P),
Faculty of Law, Cat holic University of Louvai n (UCL), Belgium.
1 Strasbourg , 30November 1964.
Probation Measure s and Alternative Sanc tions in Europe
New Journal of Eu ropean Crimina l Law, Vol.4, Issue 1–2, 2013 135
exercised over them by the executing st ate. Improving social rehabi litation of foreign
sentenced persons was the main idea b ehind this instrument.
For various reasons, the 1964 Convention was imprac tical so that the rehabilit ation
objective could not be reached. Nowadays, t he Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA of
27 November 2008 on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to
judgments and probation decisions with a view to the supervision of probation
measures and alternative sanctions2, subsequently amended by the Framework
Decision 2009/299/JHA of 26February 2009,3 has replaced the Convention with
respect to supervision between Member States of the EU. e aim of t he Framework
Decision is to improve cooperation in this mat ter by the application of the principle of
mutua l recognitio n.
e objective of this article is to observe how the new instrument will be more
e ective than the Convention on the supervision: a more e cient procedure would
better meet the objective of rehabilitation and should reduce discrimination in the
granting of conditional measures to foreign sentenced persons. Furthermore, the
article identi es some other interests of sentenced persons in t he procedure (inter alia,
the need for transparency and for being a player in the procedure) and determines
whether the Framework Decision ta kes these interests into account.
1. GENESIS OF THE COOPERATION IN THE SUPERVISION
OF PROBATION MEASURES AND ALTERNATIVE
SANCTIONS: THE 1964 CONVENTION
e Council of Europe pioneered the use of Eu ropean instruments on the super vision
of o enders. On 30November 1964, it adopted the C onvention on the Supervision of
Conditionally Sentenced or Conditionally Released O enders. is Convention
applies to probation measures sens u lato.
At that time, parole was regulated in most national laws of Member States of the
Council of Europe. Moreover, the regimes of suspension, probation and other
alternatives to custodial sentences, which are within the scope of the Convention on
supervision, were widely recommended by all, i ncluding the Committee of Ministers
of the Council of Europe.4 at body adopted many Resolutions and Recommendations
on measures and sanctions applied in the community,5 notably the 1965 Resolution
2 OJ L 337, 16December 2008, p.102.
3 OJ L 81, 27March 2009, p.24.
4 N. Kunter, ‘La tran smission de la sur veillance – e t ransfer of super vision’, R.I.D.P. 1974, pp.641–642.
5 Resolution (65) 1 on suspended sentence, probation and other a lternatives to i mprisonment,
Resolution (70) 1 on the practical organisation of measures for the supervision and a er-care of
conditionally sentenced or conditiona lly released o enders, Resolut ion 76 (2) on the treatment of
long-term prisoners, Re solution 76 (10) on certain alternative penal measures to imprisonment,
Recommendation No. R 92 (16) on the European rules on community sanctions and measures,
To continue reading
Request your trial