Body searches in Belgian prisons: dignity, security and denial
Body search practices in Belgian prisons are regulated by the Prison Act of 12 January 2005. This chapter discusses the recent history of the regulation of such control measures in Belgium. This history has been particularly turbulent, due to the controversial nature of body searches in Belgium. Ove...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2023
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| In: |
Body Searches and Imprisonment
Year: 2023, Pages: 131-152 |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Summary: | Body search practices in Belgian prisons are regulated by the Prison Act of 12 January 2005. This chapter discusses the recent history of the regulation of such control measures in Belgium. This history has been particularly turbulent, due to the controversial nature of body searches in Belgium. Over the past years Belgian courts have often ruled that the regulations, as stipulated in the Prison Act of 12 January 2005, have been violated in practice. Moreover, politically, body searches proved to be a highly sensitive topic, which led to an intensely debated legal reform aimed at introducing a system of routine strip searches, which, eventually, was denounced by the UN Committee Against Torture and abolished by the Constitutional Court. The chapter also discusses the findings of a large-scale research project, conducted by the Federal Ombudsman which took place in 12 prisons in Belgium (2016–2017). In addition, the chapter explores how the new complaint commissions, which were introduced in Belgian prisons in October 2020, have dealt with complaints related to strip searches. |
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| Item Description: | Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 150-152 |
| ISBN: | 9783031204517 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/978-3-031-20451-7_7 |