Correspondence by prisoners in the context of ECHR case law, with particular emphasis on the amendment of Article 105 of the Executive Penal Code
Kornelia Grabowska-Biernat
Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie UWMhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6890-3183
Abstract
The Act of August 5, 2022, amending the Act – Executive Penal Code and certain other acts introduced several changes in the legal regulations regarding the situation of inmates in prisons and remand centres. One of them is the obligation to cover the costs of correspondence of prisoners deprived of their liberty. According to the amended regulations, the obligation to cover the costs
of correspondence applies to both private and official correspondence. The aim of this article is to analyze the amendment to the provisions of criminal enforcement law regarding the possibility of conducting correspondence by persons
deprived of liberty in the context of imposing an obligation to pay such correspondence on them and to assess the changes introduced in this respect. This
work also discusses the possibility of waiving the rule of paying correspondence, which allows an inmate to receive postage stamps, envelopes and paper
from the administration of the penitentiary unit, but only in exceptional situations. The lack of a specific indication of situations in which a detainee may
benefit from financial assistance from the prison administration in terms of payment for correspondence may lead to “decision-making slack” and, as a consequence, decisions in this regard are made arbitrarily. At the end of this
article, the author discusses the changes introduced and analyzes them concerning the protection of the fundamental rights of prisoners. The mere theoretical possibility of limiting correspondence due to the financial situation may result in limiting the right to contact with loved ones and even limiting the
right to defence.
Keywords:
right to correspondence, deprived of liberty, temporarily arrested, payment of correspondenceReferences
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Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski w Olsztynie UWM
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6890-3183
