The Dutch House of Representatives on September 8 debated the possibility of early release and how a life sentence should be spent.
The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights has issues its objections to the latest plan to revise life sentences in the Netherlands.
Until death
The way in which the Netherlands carries out life sentences is in violation of human rights. A life sentence in the Netherlands is a prison sentence until death, with the only possibility for early release being a pardon by the state secretary of justice. In practice, such a pardon has been granted only once in the last 30 years, in the case of a terminally ill convict.
The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly stressed that every convict should have a realistic prospect for release. The possibility of release cannot just be theoretical or illusory. Without a "right to hope,” there is no prospect of release, and this constitutes inhumane treatment under Article 3 for the European Convention on Human Rights.
Review system
For this reason, State Secretary of Security and Justice Klaas Dijkhoff wants to introduce a periodic review system – an important step that has to be taken in order to continue implementing life sentences. However, his proposal for a periodic review system leaves much to be desired, according to the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights.
The state secretary proposes that life prisoners may in some cases take part in a reintegration program after 25 years. After such a program, the convict still must apply for a pardon, which will be reviewed by the state secretary.
The Institute's objections
The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights has presented its objections to the proposal in a letter to the House of Representatives. First of all, the Institute believes that a judge should review the case of a life prisoner after 25 years, instead of the state secretary in a request for a pardon.
Reintegration programs should start before 25 years have passed, and in cases where a judge decides that a prisoner is not yet ready for release, there should be a reevaluation after every 3 or 5 years.
The state secretary should not decide this policy change on his own, as is the plan now, but make it law. This is especially important because the state secretary has announced that he wants to research the possibility of increasing the maximum definite prison term from 30 to 40 years.
This would mean that the moment of reevaluation would not take place after 25 years, but even later. This is why it is essential that the House of Representatives discusses the effects of such an increase with State Secretary Dijkhoff.
More information
The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights
