Kirchberg Dispensing the Punishment: Inflicting 'Civil Death' on Prisoners in Onuekwere (C-378/12) and M.G. (C-400/12)

European Law Review, 40, 2016, pp. 557-577, August 2016

35 Pages Posted: 29 Jun 2016 Last revised: 7 Mar 2018

See all articles by Uladzislau Belavusau

Uladzislau Belavusau

T.M.C. Asser Institute - University of Amsterdam; University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law

Dimitry Kochenov

CEU Democracy Institute, Budapest; CEU Department of Legal Studies, Vienna

Date Written: June 28, 2016

Abstract

This article critiques the controversial approach taken by the Court of Justice towards the periods of imprisonment in the 2014 judgments of Onuekwere and M.G. The Court approved exclusion of such periods for the purposes of (1) acquiring permanent residence and (2) benefitting from the enhanced protection against deportation. Effectively, the Court has revitalised the archaic doctrine of civil death in the EU. This development is not only in profound contradiction to the essential features of European constitutionalism and contemporary approaches to the rights of inmates in European democracies. It is also markedly ineffective in combating crime, de facto favouring ritual banishments over measures to reduce reoffending. The authors uncover lacunae in the Court’s reasoning incompatible with the emancipating paradigm of EU citizenship – non-discrimination – as well as any desirable humane outlook on penitentiary systems and the aims of criminal justice. They unpack these judgments in light of the history of punishment, citizenship theory and the emerging European prisoners’ rights standards, including the latest developments before the European Court of Human Rights, paying particular attention to the recent UK developments in this area. They conclude that bar some extraordinary exceptions, imprisonment periods should undoubtedly count as proper residence by EU citizens in the Member States other than their own. The nationalist reasons behind the recent shift in case law hardly qualify as sound considerations to limit the reach of EU law, instead undermining the legislator through a contra legem ultra vires reading of the relevant Directive. They do not make European cities safer, they do not improve the lives of EU citizens and they undermine the achievement of the goals of EU integration.

Keywords: Prisoners’ rights, EU citizenship, civil death, punishment, periods of imprisonment, permanent residence, deportation

Suggested Citation

Belavusau, Uladzislau and Kochenov, Dimitry and Kochenov, Dimitry, Kirchberg Dispensing the Punishment: Inflicting 'Civil Death' on Prisoners in Onuekwere (C-378/12) and M.G. (C-400/12) (June 28, 2016). European Law Review, 40, 2016, pp. 557-577, August 2016, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2801783

Uladzislau Belavusau

T.M.C. Asser Institute - University of Amsterdam ( email )

R.J. Schimmelpennincklaan 20-22
The Hague, 2517 JN
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://www.uva.nl/en/profile/b/e/u.belavusau/u.belavusau.html

University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law

Boalt Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
United States

Dimitry Kochenov (Contact Author)

CEU Democracy Institute, Budapest ( email )

Nador utca 9
Budapest, H-1051
Hungary

CEU Department of Legal Studies, Vienna ( email )

Quellenstraße 51
Vienna, 1100
Austria

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