Activating civil society interventions to address the structural problems of prison systems in Europe

ongoing

The proposed programme aims to put civil society fully in a position to contribute to solving the structural problems of prison systems in the European Union. Firstly, it will enable civil society organisations to contribute effectively to the work of the European bodies working on prison issues, thus remedying a deficit in exchanges that currently exists. By providing these bodies with analytical notes on the issues addressed or briefing papers on key national situations, the programme will enable these bodies to better identify structural problems and their causes, and to adapt their strategies accordingly, as well as the standards issued. Regular information on current European case law (CJEU/ECtHR) will then be provided to practitioners in the languages of the countries concerned. In the same way, information on the national legal news on prison reform of these countries will be elaborated and widely disseminated in the different languages. The programme will thus contribute to the respect of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and to the circulation of protective legal models. The programme will also carry out a study of the impact of European strategies concerning countries that have been subject to a pilot or quasi-pilot judgment due to poor detention conditions. This will allow lessons to be learned, 15 years after the first use of this procedure against an EU Member State. Two other thematic studies will be conducted, aiming to determine the role played by civil society and lawyers in sentence adjustment systems and measures to combat radicalisation in prison. It will aim to establish good practices in this area, so that civil society can play its role in these two crucial issues of prison policies.