The assessment of life imprisonment without parole in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract

Life imprisonment without parole is one of the most debated institutions of Hungarian criminal law, and while several criminal policy arguments may be advanced in support of the necessity of this sanction, in its current form it is incompatible with the requirements arising from Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which enshrines the prohibition of inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment. Furthermore, the European Court of Human Rights has on several occasions established Hungary’s responsibility in connection with the regulation of this penalty, however, because the necessary correction has not been implemented to this day, the purpose of this study is to present the relevant case law from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and the responses of national authorities to it, as well as to identify key concerns regarding current regulations and to formulate recommendations.