On Wednesday, 6 July 2022, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR) hosted a national roundtable discussion in the Green Lounge of the University of Vienna as part of the project “JUSTICE FOR ALL – Enhancing the Rights of Defendants and Detainees with Intellectual and/or Psychosocial Disabilities. EU Cross-Border Transfers, Detention and Alternatives”. The aim was an interdisciplinary exchange between representatives of the judiciary, lawyers, probation officers, representatives of oversight mechanisms, and other relevant stakeholders in connection with the deprivation of liberty of persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities in the criminal context.

The event provided an opportunity to discuss current challenges as well as best practices in the following areas:

• Implementation of the relevant EU Framework Decisions regarding procedures for persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities;
• Preventive detention (“Maßnahmenvollzug”) in Austria (status quo & reform proposals);
• Alternatives to deprivation of liberty and probation measures

The insights gained are intended to strengthen the rights of defendants and detainees with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities and promote cooperation in cross-border criminal proceedings that is in conformity with fundamental rights.