In this article, we use the example of prison leave to discuss prisoners' access to justice. Based on a functional comparative analysis of the situation in Denmark and Germany, we study the law in action. In Germany, prisoners have a legally entrenched right of access to the courts in cases of denial of prison leave. However, in Denmark prisoners face more barriers when trying to access the court. In our analysis, we have compared Danish court cases with letters from German prisoners referring to their struggles with prison administrations and courts. The materials from both countries show more similarities than one would expect, given the significant differences between the substantive law in the two jurisdictions. While acknowledging the need for further empirical investigation, we introduce a concept we term "genuine justice", with the aim of paving the way for other and more radical remedies supplementing the economic, legal and social measures already in place.
Bidragets oversatte titel
udgang fra fængsel og access to justice: Et indblik i dansk og tysk lovgivning i praksis
Originalsprog
Engelsk
Tidsskrift
Oniati Socio-Legal Series
Vol/bind
13
Nummer
4
Sider (fra-til)
1-32
Antal sider
32
ISSN
2079-5971
Status
Udgivet - 6 feb. 2023
Forskningsområder
udgang fra fængsel, access to justice, administrativt skøn