On Wednesday, 8 November 2023 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR) invites you to the District Museum Josefstadt in the course of the project “Justice for All“. There, research results of the project will be presented, in particular, the national report on the deprivation of liberty under criminal law in Austria.

In addition, the event will include a panel discussion on the topic: “Persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial impairments in the penal system in the light of fundamental and human rights: What does the future hold for Austria?“. Among others, GD Friedrich Alexander König, Professor Verena Murschetz, as well as lawyer Bettina Caspar-Bures will discuss on the panel.

Since January 2022, the LBI-GMR has been implementing the project “Justice for All” in cooperation with five partner organizations in the European Union. The research focused on issues of deprivation of liberty under criminal law, in particular procedural guarantees, enforcement and conditions during enforcement, as well as possibilities of alternatives to deprivation of liberty and probation assistance. In addition, the application of EU instruments on judicial cooperation in criminal matters for affected persons is analyzed.

The year 2023 brought numerous developments with regard to persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial impairments housed in the measures prison: After years of criticism and reform efforts, the Measures Execution Adjustment Act 2022 (and thus the first part of the intended reform) entered into force. At the same time, various international bodies (CPT and UN CRPD Committee of Experts) spoke out in 2023 and criticized abuses. In particular with regard to the implementation itself, many questions are still open and the great need for reform has not yet been met. Within the framework of the project, various recommendations were formulated on how the situation can be improved and the rights of the persons concerned can be strengthened. These results will now be presented during the event.

You can find the invitation to the event in the download area. Registration is requested at the following link.