Doc. 8770
13 June 2000

Transfer of sentenced persons

Motion for a recommendation

presented by Mr Enright and others

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it

1.       The Assembly recognises the importance - from both a social and humanitarian point of view - of the 1983 Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced persons.

2.       This Convention allows for the repatriation of sentenced persons who still have a considerable prison term to serve, from the state where the offence was committed (the sentencing state) to the home state of the prisoner (the administering state). the sentence is either continued by the administering state or converted by the administering state into a sentence recognised by its own law for the crime in question; in either case, the state administers the sentence according to its own remission and parole rules. The purpose of repatriation is to allow the prisoner to keep his or her family ties, to facilitate training in his or her mother tongue, and to provide for probation and rehabilitation into society once the prisoner has served his or her sentence.

3.       The Convention has been ratified by 36 Council of Europe member states and entered into force in 1985. It is an open convention and a number of non-member states of the Council of Europe, including the United States of America, have become contracting parties.

4.       In the framework of the Council of Europe, a committee of governmental experts (the Committee of Experts on the Operation of Conventions in the Penal Field) monitors the operation of the Convention.

5.       Unfortunately, experience has shown that the application of the convention is frequently not as successful as one might have hoped. Its procedures are time-consuming and cumbersome - not to mention bureaucratic - contrary to Council of Europe Recommendation No. R(92)18, which requires states "to proceed diligently and urgently in processing requests for transfer".

6.       Moreover, the decision - making criteria by which some states refuse transfer requests are contrary to the social and humanitarian spirit of the Convention; instead of being guided by the ethos of family assisted rehabilitation and reintegration into society, certain states lose sight of the social and humanitarian spirit of the Convention. For example, if there is a possibility of a prisoner serving less time in the administering state due to different sentence-administration rules, the request is frequently denied by the sentencing state, regardless of any compelling family/rehabilitation reasons in favour of transfer.

7.       The Assembly therefore recommends that the Committee of Ministers consider ways and means of facilitating the speedy and humanitarian application of the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons by member states.

Signed : ¹

Enright, Ireland, EPP/CD

Aguiar, Portugal, EPP/CD

Dees, Netherlands, LDR

Frunda, Romania, EPP/CD

Imbrasiene, Lithuania, EPP/CD

Jäatteenmäki, Finland, LDR

Jurgens, Netherlands, SOC

Kresak, Slovakia, LDR

Kroupa, Czech Republic, EPP/CD

Libane, Latvia, LDR

McNamara, United Kingdom, SOC

Simonsen, Norway, NR

Svoboda, Czech Republic, EPP/CD

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group