Overall goals and fundamental rights 2.2. Goal of social rehabilitation Social rehabilitation should be seen as the main purpose of transfers of prisoners. The impact on rehabilitation is taken into account in the majority (at least 25) of Member States. According to the Framework Decision on transfer of prisoners, the authorities in the issuing state may contact competent authorities in the executing state to inquire whether an individual’s transfer would indeed facilitate social rehabilitation.91 Nelson Mandela Rules on social rehabilitation The UN Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Offenders (SMRs), originally adopted in  1955, were upgraded starting in 2011, culminating in the adoption of the revised rules by the UN General Assembly in December 2015. The SMRs were also given the additional name of the Nelson Mandela Rules. The SMRs address social rehabilitation in quite some detail, noting that: “the purposes of a  sentence of imprisonment or similar measures deprivative of a person’s liberty are primarily to protect society against crime and to reduce recidivism. Those purposes can be achieved only if the period of imprisonment is used to ensure, so far as possible, the reintegration of such persons into society upon release so that they can lead a law-abiding and selfsupporting life.” (Rule 4 (1), emphasis added.) The Nelson Mandela Rules go on to specify what this means: “[P]rison administrations and other competent authorities should offer education, vocational training and work, as well as other forms of assistance that are appropriate and available, including those of a  remedial, moral, spiritual, social and health- and sports-based nature. All such programmes, activities and services should be delivered in line with the individual treatment needs of prisoners.” (Rule 4 (2), emphasis added.) The SMRs also state that “it is desirable that the necessary steps be taken to ensure for the prisoner a gradual return to life in society. This aim may be achieved, depending on the case, by a  prerelease regime […] or by release on trial under some kind of supervision which must not be entrusted to the police but should be combined with effective social aid.” (Rule 87, emphasis added.) Moreover, the rules stipulate that the “treatment of prisoners should emphasize not their exclusion from the community but their continuing part in it. Community agencies should therefore be enlisted wherever possible to assist the prison staff in the task of social rehabilitation of the prisoners.” Finally, they also assert that “There should be in connection with every prison social workers charged with the duty of maintaining and improving all desirable relations of a prisoner with his or her family and with valuable social agencies. […]”. (Rule 88 (1) and (2), emphasis added.) Source: UN, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly, Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), 17 December 2015; Council of Europe, Committee of Ministers, Recommendation Rec(2006)2 with commentary, 11 January 2006 Some states believe that rehabilitation can be successful either in the state of nationality or in another state. For example, according to Austrian legislation, when strong ties with Austria exist, it may be assumed that social rehabilitation may better be achieved in Austria than in a state of citizenship.92 Legislation in Spain states, like the Framework Decision on transfer of prisoners, that if the aim of rehabilitating the convicted person is not achieved, this can be a reason for discontinuing transfer proceedings.93 The same requirement applies when Spain is the executing state.94 Correspondingly, law in Finland provides that a prerequisite for a transfer is that it promotes the sentenced person’s opportunities to reintegrate into society. Factors considered are the person’s nationality, place of permanent residence, personal situation and other special reasons that are not further defined in the act.95 Family ties are the most 92 91 Council Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA, Art. 4 (3) and (4). Austria, Federal law on judicial cooperation in criminal matters with the Member States of the European Union, Bundesgesetz über die justizielle Zusammenarbeit in Strafsachen mit den Mitgliedstaaten der Europäischen Union (EU-JZG), 30 April 2004, para. 42 (b) (3). 93 Spain, Law 23/2014 of 20 November on mutual recognition of criminal judgments in the European Union, Art. 74.1.b. 94 Ibid., Art. 78.3. 95 Finland (2011), Act on National Implementation of Provisions Belonging to the Legislative Field of the Framework Decision on Transfer of Sentenced Persons in the European Union and Application of the Framework Decision (Laki tuomittujen siirtoa Euroopan unionissa koskevan puitepäätöksen lainsäädännön alaan kuuluvien säännösten kansallisesta täytäntöönpanosta ja puitepäätöksen soveltamisesta/Lag om det nationella genomförandet av de bestämmelser som hör till området för lagstiftningen i rambeslutet om överföring av dömda personer inom Europeiska unionen och om tillämpning av rambeslutet) 1169/2011, 25 November 2011. 43