PWG-Justice denied? How disciplinary regimes undermine prisoners’ human rights

• In Event: PWG-Disciplining Prisoners: Looking for Pathways to Accessing Justice

Abstract

This paper examines formal disciplinary practices in the Swiss prison system, with a particular focus on access to justice. Access to justice is understood in a people-centred way, emphasising how individuals perceive, understand and engage with the mechanisms designed to protect their rights.
Despite an overarching national legal and human rights framework, disciplinary measures in Swiss prisons are regulated at the cantonal level, resulting in significant variations in procedures and sanctions. Transparency remains a critical issue: while house rules serve as the primary basis for disciplinary decisions, they are rarely publicly available. Moreover, Switzerland lacks official statistics on disciplinary sanctions and the use of complaints mechanisms, which further obscures the system.
These structural deficiencies raise fundamental concerns about the rule of law and the effective exercise of prisoners' rights. Based on empirical research conducted in a Swiss prison, this study examines key questions: How often are prisoners disciplined, for what reasons and by what means? Furthermore, how do prisoners experience and navigate disciplinary sanctions, and to what extent do they use grievance mechanisms to challenge them?
However, access to justice is not only about the availability of complaints mechanisms—it is also about the broader legitimacy of the disciplinary system itself. Therefore, this study also investigates whether disciplinary regimes in Swiss prisons adhere to human rights standards, as they ultimately shape the very conditions under which prisoners can seek justice.

Author

• David Peregrin Mühlemann, Universität Bern