“Sicherungsverwahrung” (preventive detention) in Germany under the scrutiny of the ECHR

2020

The societal challenge how to deal with offenders deemed habitually dangerous, requires to balance needs for security of the general public with the human rights of the potential extreme dangerous offender. The prediction of future heavy crimes can never be precise. Hence, all measures infringing the rights of individuals deemed dangerous are very problematic from a human rights perspective. Germany uses “Sicherungsverwahrung” (preventive detention) to handle this challenge. The concept basically meant that after their prison-sentence, offenders deemed dangerous were kept in prison like conditions until they were not deemed dangerous anymore. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) inter…