Principles of European Prison Law and Policy

This is an impressive, meticulously-researched and thorough text. Alongside providing a comprehensive guide to relevant statutes and case law... the book is embedded in the penological research literature and thus avoids being a narrowly-legalistic guide to the law and, instead, engages the reader in both understanding the relevant law and also its socio-legal and penological context. The book manages to combine highly-detailed scholarship with clarity of written expression and a thoughtful and critical approach. The breadth of scholarship, depth of analysis and thoughtful critique of the current law make this book an outstanding addition to the existing published literature. Overall, this is a highly significant text which addresses a complex topic and which should be essential reading for anyone interested in human rights, law, prisons and prisoners' families. * Helen Codd, The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Vol 49 No 2, May 2010 *
The analysis of specific prison and prisoner issues is thorough and lucid * Rod Morgan, University of Bristol, British Journal of Criminology Advance Access *
Dirk van Zyl Smit and Sonja Snacken provide a precious addition to the conceptual toolbox of comparative analysis. Their book offers a broad compendium and a detailed commentary of the growing body of European law and policy in the fields of imprisonment and human rights. So far, no comprehensive work on the European penal landscape (and much less European prison systems) had appeared in the literature on punishment and society, and in this respect this book represents an invaluable source of information for scholars working on prisons and penal policies across Europe...The authors' reconstruction of recent case law, recommendations, resolution, and policy initiatives provides both a clear image of the current state of human rights throughout European prisons, and some important insights about possible future developments. * Alessandro De Giorgi, Theoretical Criminology *
The word "magisterial" is no doubt an over-, not infrequently, mis-applied one. Yet I struggle to find another adjective that covers the calm authority and breadth of experience that Van Zyl Smit and Snacken bring to bear in this text. The experience in question here refers not only to the authors' lengthy records of distinguished scholarship but also to their direct and active roles in prison reform and policy projects. * Richard Sparks, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Law Review *
This book is a very important contribution to the body of knowledge about prison law and policy not only in the European context but also beyond the region. The authors have managed to strike the right balance between the examination of law and policy on the one hand and penology on the other. This allows those 'in the driving seat' of both law and policy to acquire the requisite background knowledge that is esential if prison law and policy is to be mutually reinforcing and be well anchored in fundamental human rights principles. * Elina Steinerte, University of Bristol, Human Rights Law Review 11 *