PWG-Prisoners’ Access to Justice Against Disciplinary and Security Measures in Germany

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

Abstract

The presentation will deal with difficulties and thresholds that prisoners experience when accessing courts and seeking justice with respect to disciplinary measures by the prison administration. The law in the books offers a rather high standard of legal guarantees in connection with disciplinary measures including the suspension of their execution. However, this turns out to be different when considering the law in action. One reason for this is the different legal framework for security measures, another are the further possibilities to punish prisoners informally but effectively, e.g. by denying prison leaves.

The law of procedure is an obvious instrument to improve access to justice for prisoners. However, with reference to the law in action, to the contrary elements of a systematic procedural injustice can be defined. The analysis that will be presented is based on published court decisions, letters of prisoners to the Prison Archive (an organisation for prisoners’ rights at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Dortmund) as well as individual court cases that have been pleaded by the author.

Author

• Christine Graebsch, University of Dortmund