The State's Positive Obligations Under the ECHR in the Context of Irish Prisons

Abstract

The welfare of detainees in Ireland has also received significant attention in recent times due to widely reported deaths of inmates in recent years. In the discussion on the welfare of detainees in Irish prisons, it is important to note that the Irish Government has ratified international human rights treaties, subsequently approved by the Irish Parliament. As a result of this, Ireland has accepted a body of legal obligations conferring rights on all persons resident in the State. This article examines how these rights have particular relevance to the situation of persons in detention and impose obligations in relation to conditions and regimes in the prisons and basic minimum standards of care for all prisoners. The analysis in this article discusses rights that are relevant in the prison context which have been developed from the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (Court) as it has interpreted the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as imposing inherent positive obligations on States to secure human rights by undertaking specific affirmative tasks.

Keywords: Human rights, ECHR, prison, prisoners, positive obligations

JEL Classification: K10, K33, K14