Penalty of Deprivation of Liberty in Modern Criminal Policy - A Comparative Exposition of the Situation in the Federal Republic of Germany and in France

• NCJ Number: 90723
• Journal: Revue de science criminelle et de droit penal compare Issue: 4 Dated: (October-December 1982) Pages: 719-731
• Author(s): H-H Jescheck
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: French
• Country: France
• Note: Lecture given at the National School for the Magistrature in Bordeaux on March 9, 1982 and at the Law School of the University of Social Sciences at Toulouse on March 10, 1982. Translated from German to French by Damiel Fischer

Annotation

This comparative paper on the legislative content as well as the implementation of criminal justice penalties in France and West Germany deals with penalties that deprive offenders of liberty through incarceration as well as through various alternative measures to institutionalization.

Abstract

The first part of the paper assesses correspondence in the two countries between the formulation of the law regarding penalties that are deprivational of liberty and its practical application in the administration of justice. Next, the discussion concerns the basic principles upon which existing laws are based as well as the rationale behind the latest policy reforms in both countries. German reforms are assessed in retrospect (having come into effect in 1975), while French ones are discussed in terms of ongoing changes and anticipated effects. In the third section of the paper, particular focus is directed to the issue of sentence length, which is deemed the crucial aspect of a penalty that deprives one of liberty. Recommendations are made in conclusion one of liberty. Recommendations are made in conclusion regarding German policies on restricted liberty penalties.