Social and Living Conditions in Polish Prisons in the Context of International Legal Regulations – Selected Issues

Grzegorz Adam Skrobotowicz

Faculty of Law, Canon Law and Administration, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin , Poland
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0882-0236


Abstract

The aim of the study is to determine the current position of a Polish prisoner against the international background, with particular emphasis on the description of social and living conditions which are the closest to penitentiary everyday life. The study presents main acts of the international law and analyzes selected case-law of the European Court of Human Rights in determining standards for dealing with persons deprived of freedom, as well as the activities of international and national preventive mechanisms, in particular the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and the Ombudsman.

Keywords:

convicts, social conditions in prison, standards for executing punishments

International law acts
1. Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms done in Rome on November 4, 1950, subsequently amended by Protocols No. 3, 5 and 8 and supplemented by Protocol No. 2, Journal Of Laws 1993, No. 61, item 284,
2. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of December 19, 1966, ratified by Poland 1977, Journal laws 1977, no 38, item 167;
3. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 1984Journal laws 1989, No 63, item 378;
4. European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and ... Treatment or Punishment, done in Strasbourg on 26 November 1987 Journal of Laws of 1995 No 46 item 238.
5. Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms done in Rome on November 4, 1950, subsequently amended by Protocols No. 3, 5 and 8 and supplemented by Protocol No. 2, Journal Of Laws 1993, No. 61, item 284, as ammended.
National laws
1. Regulation of the Minister of Justice of November 25, 2009 on the procedure to be followed by competent authorities in the event that the number of prisoners in prisons or pre-trial detention centers exceeds the overall capacity of these facilities on a national scale (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 946).
Bibliography
1. E. Dawidziuk, Traktowanie osób pozbawionych wolności we współczesnej Polsce na tle standardów międzynarodowych, Warszawa 2013,
2. Ejchart M., Kosowicz K., Wprowadzenie, (w:) PWP, Międzynarodowe standardy wykonywania kar, ed. T. Szymanowski, nr 72-73, III-IV kwartał, Warszawa 2011;
3. Gajdus D., Gronowska B., Europejskie standardy traktowania więźniów, Toruń 1998;
4. Living space per prisoner in prison establishments: CPT standards, CPT/Inf (2015)44; Dwudziesty Szósty Raport Generalny CPT, CPT/Inf (2017)5, par. 56;
5. Migdał J, Skrobotowicz G. Możliwość realizacji Europejskich Reguł Więziennych z 2006 r. w zakresie reintegracyjnego modelu wykonywania kary pozbawienia wolności a przeludnienie polskich jednostek penitencjarnych., Rocznik Nauk Prawnych, Tom XXIV, nr 1, 2014;
6. Nowicki M.A. Wokół Konwencji Europejskiej. Komentarz do Europejskiej Konwencji Praw Człowieka, Warszawa 2013;
7. Raport Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich z działalności w Polsce Krajowego Mechanizmu Prewencji w 2012 r., Biuletyn Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich 2013 r., nr 5; (Report of the Ombudsman on the activities of the National Torture Prevention Mechanism in Poland in 2013 no.5)
8. Szymanowski T., Międzynarodowe konwencje o postępowaniu wobec skazanych, zwłaszcza osób pozbawionych wolności, (w:) PWP, Międzynarodowe standardy wykonywania kar, ed. T. Szymanowski, nr 72-73, III-IV kwartał, Warszawa 2011;
9. Szymanowski T., Rekomendacja Rec (2006) 2 Komitetu Ministrów dla państw członkowskich Europejskie Reguły Więzienne, (w:) PWP, Międzynarodowe standardy wykonywania kar, red. T. Szymanowski, nr 72-73, III-IV kwartał, Warszawa 2011;
10. Szymanowski T., Wstęp, (w:) PWP, Międzynarodowe standardy wykonywania kar, red. T. Szymanowski, nr 72-73, III-IV kwartał, Warszawa 2011;
11. Szymanowski T, Migdał J. Prawo karne wykonawcze i polityka penitencjarna, Warszawa 2014;
12. Zoń M., Orzecznictwo, Forum Penitencjarne 2009, nr 11;
Case law:
European Court of Human Rights
1. Kalashnikov v. Russia, Chamber (Section III), complaint No. 47095/99, § 96-97;
2. Ostrarov v. Moldova of 13 September 2005, Chamber (Section IV), application no. 35207/03, § 84;
3. Babushkin v. Russia of October 18 2007, Chamber (Section III), application no. 67263/01, § 44;
4. Lind V. Russia, December 6, 2007, case no. 25664/05, LEX no. 327271 § 59;
5. Orchowski vs Poland of October 22 2009, case no. 17885/04, LEX no. 523324, § 153;
6. Annyev and Others v. Russia of 10 January 2012, Chamber (Section I), complaints 42525/07 and 60800/08, § 145 and 148.

Constitutional Tribunal
1. Wyrok Trybunału Konstytucyjnego z dnia 26 maja 2008 r., SK 25/07 (The Constitutional Court’s decision of May 26 2008, SK 25/07)
Supreme court
1. Wyrok Sądu Najwyższego z dnia 28 lutego 2007 r., V CSK 431/06, OSNC 2008, nr 1, poz. 1313 (Sumpreme court's decision of Feb 28 2007, V CSK 431/06, OSNC 2008, no. 1, item 1313)
Court of Appeal
1. Decision of the Court of Appeal in Poznań of November 24, 2010, I ACa 881/10, LEX No. 757733
Online sources
1. https://rm.coe.int/16806cc449 [accessed 03.10.2019 at 20:00];
2. https://www.rpo.gov.pl/pl/content/delegacja-podkomitetu-ds-prewencji-tortur-onz-poraz-pierwszy-wizytuje-miejsca-pozbawienia-wolno%C5%9Bci [accessed 03.10.2019 at 20:00];
3. Raport Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich z działalności w Polsce Krajowego Mechanizmu Prewencji Tortur w roku 2018, https://www.rpo.gov.pl/sites/default/files/KMPT%20-%20raport%20za%20rok%202018.pdf [accessed: 17.06.2019 at 20:00] (Report of the Ombudsman on the activities of the National Torture Prevention Mechanism in Poland of 2018)
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Published
2019-12-31


Skrobotowicz, G. A. (2019). Social and Living Conditions in Polish Prisons in the Context of International Legal Regulations – Selected Issues. Review of European and Comparative Law, 39(4), 169–186. https://doi.org/10.31743/recl.5133

Grzegorz Adam Skrobotowicz  grzegorz.skrobotowicz@kul.pl
Faculty of Law, Canon Law and Administration, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin

Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Executive Law (John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin) and Legal Adviser (The Local Chamber of Legal Advisers in Lublin).

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0882-0236