OPINIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FRENCH CGLPL
2/ The persons placed under this regime by the judge are therefore
subjected to restrictions. They are committed to prison and deprived
of their freedom of movement. The fact that it may be possible for
them to leave the institution at certain times does not, of course,
exempt the public authorities from “ensuring that all prisoners are held
in conditions that are compatible with human dignity” (European Court
of human rights, Gr. ch., 26th October 2000, Kudła v. Poland, n°30210/96;
for a recent application of this established legal precedent: European
Court of human rights, 3rd sect., 24th July 2012, Fülöp v. Romania,
n°18999/04).
3/ On 1st January 2012, 1'857 persons were placed under this regime.
The prisons administration department has eleven open prisons
and seven open wings offering 768 places, representing a rate of
occupation of 241%, greater than the rate of occupation of institutions
coming under general law. This rate is probably less: many institutions
have cells assigned to those under partial release, which do not come
within the seven duly listed sections. This uncertainty is also indicative
of the interest shown in it. In any case, the rate of occupation is high.
To increase the available capacity, beds have been added: in one
centre of seventy-four places that was visited, there were one hundred
and forty beds (practically a doubling). It is therefore common, as
found by the Contrôleur général des lieux de privation de liberté in an
institution, to have three beds (two of which are superimposed) in
9.14m². Consequently, partial release means, for many beneficiaries,
living conditions in which overcrowding and lack of privacy is the rule.
The dimensions of the cells make it impossible to add furniture; for
example, their occupants have one table for three and one, or at most
two, cupboards for three, and one or two chairs for three.
What is more, the premises assigned to partial release are often old
and not renovated. In this respect, some centres visited are constantly
criticised. Thus the Contrôleur général was obliged to request (and
obtain) the immediate closure of a dormitory in which bare electric
wires were dangerously close to very damp partitions.
Lastly, there is the fact that, in many open prisons or wings, few
checks are made on the state of the premises. Dormitories and cells
are frequently in a state of pronounced disorder, with each new
arrival settling in as best they can in a state of material discomfort,
the elements of which are determined by the relative strengths of the
cohabitants. This situation is most often because, for the sections or
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