| Popis: |
The European area of freedom, security and justice ensures free movement and a high level of protection for its citizens. The area’s envisioned cooperation in criminal matters seeks to enhance cross-border assistance between member states while enhancing the individual rights of the defendants involved. Based on their shared commitment to the principles of freedom, democracy and human rights, states are to trust their respective criminal justice systems and recognize and execute each other’s judicial decisions. Many a critical observer has lamented, however, over the EU’s emphasis on the simplification and acceleration of cooperation without consideration for setting an acceptable standard to ensure the fundamental rights of the person involved. For post-trial detention, the Council Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA (FD 909) envisions an enhanced transfer of sentenced persons with a view to facilitating their social rehabilitation. Yet for mentally ill offenders, there is increasing evidence – through country and EU-wide reports as well as judgments by the ECtHR – that states fail to live up to their commitments regarding the former’s accommodation, care and treatment. This submission explores how the juxtaposition of presupposed commitments against a backdrop of evidenced breaches of international norms & standards influences the proper functioning of FD 909 and its vision of enhanced social rehabilitation as well as the position of the mentally ill offender involved. Moreover, recent EU instruments aiming to improve this position, like the Commission Recommendation on procedural safeguards for vulnerable persons in criminal proceedings, are assessed. The contributor draws from an extensive country & case law analysis, in-depth examination of EU instruments, as well as his involvement as co-author in a European Commission mandated handbook on FD 909. Flaws in the approach of mentally disordered offenders and obstacles for an effective rehabilitation are presented and included in the evaluation of past and present EU initiatives. |
