Life Imprisonment and its Abolition (Dosmrtni zapor in njegova odprava)

Abstract

The article advocates abolition of life imprisonment and enumerates reasons for this. It deals with the problem of whether this penalty is in accordance with the constitutional principle of prohibition of torture. At the same time, it points out that this penalty rises doubts in connection with the principle of legality (of criminal sanctions) as well as with the principle of proportionality. The article then reviews the relationship between this penalty and the aims of criminal sanctions and comes to the conclusion that it does meet these aims as prediction of committing a new offence is extremely difficult; resocialization of this penalty is non existing, while deterrence and retribution are better achieved by fast and certain punishment. The contribution also deals with the rights of the victims and surveys the case law of the European Court for Human Rights. It also emphasizes that Slovenia has been the only country among the former Yugoslav republics that has introduced this penalty and the only one that has introduced it as a new sanction and not as a substitute for death penalty which has been the case in other legal systems.

Keywords

• life imprisonment
• principle of proportionality
• prohibition of torture