International conference at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg

“Overcoming obstacles to the access of detained persons to rights and the judge: European perspectives”, the international conference at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

On 6-7 December 2018 HFHR participated, together with the intervention of judges and members of the ECtHR, researchers, law practitioners and international specialists of the penal and penitentiary field in the international conference “Overcoming obstacles to the access of detained persons to rights and the judge: European perspectives” at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

During the conference, the situation of access to rights and to court of prisoners in 10 countries of the EU (Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom) was presented, as well as in the United States, Ukraine and Russia.

The discussion was articulated in several thematic sessions around such questions as the impact of austerity policies on the protection of rights in prison, counter-terrorism measures and their consequences on the defence of fundamental rights of detainees, or the mobilization and role of civil society players for overcoming the isolation of prisoners. During the conference, HFHR’s lawyer – Daniel Witko, had a presentation on “the isolation of  detained persons as a factor of  vulnerability: the impact of non-compliance with EU directives in criminal matters on fundamental rights in prison, the Polish case”. The full programme of the conference is available here

The conference was co-organized by the European Prison Litigation Network in partnership with the CNRS, University of Strasbourg/SAGE, CESDIP/Université de Saint Quentin en Yvelines/Ministère de la Justice, University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne/ISJPS, Montaigne Centre for Rule of Law and Administration of Justice/University of Utrecht, Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, University of Florence, Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Institute for International Research on Criminal Policy/University of Ghent, General Council of Spanish Bars, Pontifical University of Comillas, Droit et Changement Social/University of Nantes and Helsinki Foundation of Human Rights.

The conference was co-funded by the European Union’s Justice Programme (2014-2020), GIP Mission de Recherche Droit et Justice, Alliance Europa, the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum (with support of the German Foreign Federal Office and the European Union), the Foundation Bevordering van Strafrechtelijk Onderzoek Utrecht, Ordre des Avocats Strasbourg, and was granted the Scientific Label of the Université Franco-Italienne.