3. Maximum length of detention Figure 4: Maximum length of detention – Trends 2009-2010 (month) No time limit 20 Greece 15 Bulgaria 10 Italy 5 Spain 0 2009 2010 Source: FRA, September 2010 seen in comparison with sanctions provided for criminal offences. In this context, it is worth noting that assault causing bodily harm may, in many European jurisdictions, be sanctioned with imprisonment of duration shorter than 18 months.142 FRA Opinion The FRA encourages EU Member States not to extend the maximum period of detention beyond six months. Where – in line with the Return Directive – such a possibility is introduced or maintained, national legislation should include strict safeguards to ensure that such a possibility is only used in extremely exceptional cases. A delay in obtaining necessary documentation should not justify an extension of deprivation of liberty, if it is clear from the outset that the third country concerned will not collaborate or where there are no reasonable expectations that the necessary documents will be issued in time as in such cases, detention would not anymore pursue the legitimate objective of facilitating the removal. 3.2. As short as possible Return Directive Article 15.1, last sentence Any detention shall be for as short a period as possible […] The Return Directive (Article 15.1) states that the deprivation of liberty to facilitate the return and removal process should be as short as possible. It thus introduces an obligation for States to put in place mechanisms or procedures to ensure that detention is not unduly prolonged. The six-month time limit laid down in Article 15.5 of the Directive and exceptional further extension up to a maximum of 18 months for the cases foreseen in Article 15.6 are upper time limits. The authority ordering or prolonging detention has to examine how long the deprivation of liberty can be upheld in light of the individual circumstances of the case at hand, whereby in no circumstances the upper limits set forth in Article 15.5 and 15.6 can be disregarded. In a number of EU Member States, the principle of proportionality requires the authorities ordering detention to examine that the deprivation of liberty does not exceed the time strictly required to carry out the removal.143 142 The punishment for bodily harm foreseen in the Austrian Criminal Code (Section 83) is up to one year of imprisonment. The same length is provided for by Article 133 of the Slovenian Penal Code for light bodily harm. The national laws in other countries provide for imprisonment of up to two years for the most serious cases of bodily harm, see Hungarian Penal Code, Art. 170 (1); Swedish Penal Code, Chapter 3 Section 5 (if the crime is petty, a fine or imprisonment of up to six months is foreseen); or Finnish Penal Code, Chapter 21 Section 5(1). 143 The Irish High Court held that imprisonment pending deportation is only justified for so long as is necessary for immediate or reasonably immediate deportation. The Court ruled that it would be an abuse of power to continue detention if it was clear it could not be carried out within the eight week period; see Gutrani v. Minister for Justice [1993] 2 35