Execution of Custodial Sentence in the Light of International Law Standards Based on Polish Legal Solutions and Selected Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

Custodial sentence is a means of state response to a criminal act. From this perspective, it seems important to reflect on the essence of freedom, since it is freedom, next to life, that constitutes the highest value for every human being. International instruments introduce an extensive catalogue of rights and recommendations that can be applied directly or indirectly to a person deprived of his or her liberty. They constitute the implementation of the principle of the convicted person’s dignity. The relevance of these instruments in practice, however, depends on their implementation into national law, and on the existence of control mechanisms that would allow, in a manner accessible to everyone, to enforce the effectiveness of international instruments on individuals. In the modern world, we can speak of universal and regional systems for the protection of human rights, which include the United Nations System and the Council of Europe and European Union Systems. This article will present selected inter-state regulations that relate to the execution of custodial sentences and examples of solutions introduced into the Polish legal system on the basis of these regulations. The article will also point out selected judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, issued mainly in cases against Poland, and of the Polish Supreme Court and the Constitutional Tribunal, and introduce the issue of the National Preventive Mechanism.