The Right To Respect For Private And Family Life For Individuals Sentenced To Life Imprisonment Aligns With The European Court Of Human Rights Practice Concerning Ukraine: Conditions Of Legal Limitation And Classification Of Violations

Abstract

Individuals sentenced to life imprisonment in Ukraine according to Articles 3, 30, 31, 32 of the Constitution of Ukraine, and Article 8(1) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950 and other international treaties, have the right to respect for their private and family life. The legislation of Ukraine regulating the regime of serving punishment by this category of convicts, in terms of providing opportunities for convicts to exercise this right, did not correspond to European standards in many aspects. Researchers have considered the Criminal Executive Code of Ukraine as the sole source of law, which comprehensively regulates the content and scope of rights of convicts in Ukraine, including respect for private and family life. Under the influence of demands addressed to Ukraine from the European Court of Human Rights, Ukraine's criminal and criminal-executive law changed, approaching European standards, but complete compliance has not been achieved yet. The realization of the right to respect for private and family life by individuals deprived of liberty, by the established practice of the European Court of Human Rights and recommendations provided by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in the European Prison Rules, is carried out through contacts with the outside world, encompassing a specific set of concrete opportunities. The right to establish and develop relationships with other people and the outside world is not absolute. It can be restricted according to the conditions of serving a sentence of life imprisonment. The European Court of Human Rights has developed an established practice in cases brought by individuals deprived of liberty. This practice includes legal positions reflected in decisions regarding other states and decisions concerning Ukraine. This concerns the delineation of the scope of Article 8 «Right to respect for private and family life» of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms with the spheres of action of its other articles, including Article 3 «Prohibition of torture». In addition, considered the legality of the conditions limiting the right to respect for private and family life within the regime framework of serving sentences by convicts and the types of violations of this right by states. In this article, this such practice is analysed and summarized.