What is parole?
Parole is the legal institution that allows a person sentenced to life imprisonment or imprisonment to be released before the full custodial sentence has been served, if a number of conditions strictly laid down by law are met. Thus, we can say that conditional release is a right of the sentenced person to be released earlier if he or she behaves in accordance with the rules of conduct imposed in the prison environment, i.e. that he or she has fulfilled the obligations imposed in the sentencing decision.
Early release appears as an incentive for the person sentenced to a custodial sentence to concentrate on work and behave in accordance with the rules of conduct in the prison.
Legal framework
Conditional release is provided for in art. 99-106 of the Criminal Code, which provides the framework for such a measure.
In this respect, the above-mentioned articles contain the conditions to be met by the sentenced person, the supervision measures and obligations to be imposed by the court, the institutions in charge of supervision, and what will happen in case of breach of trust.
When can parole come into play?
Parole involves a first – administrative – stage, followed by a second stage – a court decision.
During the administrative stage, the conduct of the sentenced person is assessed by a special committee set up for this purpose at the prison, which will determine whether the conditions laid down by law are met and will draw up a report which it will submit together with the personal file to the competent court and to the person concerned.
During the second stage, the court will decide on the application for release and may either grant or reject it, and the court’s decision may be appealed to the court.
Among the conditions to be met by the person sentenced to life imprisonment or to imprisonment are the following:
the sentenced person must have served the fraction of the sentence prescribed by law. This condition is to be assessed according to the type of sentence imposed (life imprisonment or imprisonment) and the age of the sentenced person. It is the main condition to be taken into account by both the prison board and the court.
the sentenced person must be serving a sentence in semi-open or open prison. No conditional release may be ordered if the sentenced person is serving a custodial sentence, even if the minimum sentence is served.
the sentenced person has been of good behaviour throughout the sentence. The criminal law does not specify the type of sentence to be served (closed, semi-closed or open) by a person sentenced to life imprisonment, unlike the case of a person sentenced to imprisonment.
the sentenced person must have fully complied with the civil obligations laid down in the sentencing judgment, unless he or she proves that he or she had no possibility of doing so. In order to be eligible for parole, the sentenced person must have fully complied with the civil obligations.
the court must be satisfied that the sentenced person has made good and can reintegrate into society.
This requirement is the result of an overall assessment of all the conditions relating to the convicted person’s conduct, and the court then assesses whether release can be ordered or the application must be rejected.
As can be seen from the above, conditional release does not appear to be a right of the sentenced person, but a benefit conferred on him by the legislator.
In order to have the chance of early release, the sentenced person will have to strive to fulfil all the conditions listed above.
What are the consequences of conditional release?
The main effect is the immediate release of the convicted person after the final court decision. Thereafter, for a certain period of time, which varies according to the sentence imposed, the sentenced person will have a period of supervision and will have to comply with a number of supervision measures and obligations.
The final effect will take place at the end of the supervision period if the supervised person does not commit another offence and fulfils all the obligations and supervision measures that have been set for him/her. Thus, the sentence to which he was sentenced and from the execution of which he was released will be deemed to have been served in full.
In most cases, specialist assistance is needed for advice and representation before the court in order to give this early release a better chance.
If you need further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
