Limiting pre-trial detention is a vital step towards reducing prison populations significantly, while recognising that unconvicted persons should never be incarcerated unnecessarily. This excellent book combines comparative studies of European pre-trial detention with in-depth analyses of their findings. It is an invaluable resource for penal reformers and students of criminal justice.
Dirk van Zyl Smit, Emeritus Professor of Comparative and International Penal Law, University of Nottingham
This volume offers a comprehensive overview of the current empirical and legal issues surrounding pre-trial detention in Europe. The edition builds on more than a decade of research on remand detention across several European jurisdictions. Contributions are written by a stellar line up of experts, dealing with topics as diverse as human rights in remand proceedings and the practice of pre-trial decision-making. This book should be read by anyone who wishes to acquire valuable suggestions and develop operational strategies on how to reduce the use of pre-trial detention and expand the resort to its alternatives.
Adriano Martufi, Assistant Professor of Criminal Law, University of Pavia/Leiden University
Pre-trial detention is a highly problematic penal practice. However, little is still known about its rationales and use across Europe. This book fills therefore an important gap in penological comparative scholarschip. It is an excellent example of a multi-national, multi-lingual and multi-cultural qualitative comparative research on pre-trial detention, based on unique empirical data, combined with a theoretical and human rights approach.
Kristel Beyens, Professor of Criminology and Penology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Pre-trial detention for a long time has been neglected in research. The present book is an outstanding example of comparative criminal justice research covering legal and international human rights aspects as well as an empirical stock-taking of the use of pre-trail detention in Europe. The core question how to limit and to avoid deprivation of liberty of formally innocents is developed by a comprehensive comparison of eight European countries revealing the variations and similarities of problems in different legal cultures and jurisdictions. It deserves the utmost attention of the scientific community and of practitioners interested in criminal procedure and penal policy based on empirical evidence.
Prof. emeritus Dr. Frieder Dunkel, University of Greifswald, Germany
