A Positive Right to Rehabilitation? An Examination of the ‘Principle of Rehabilitation’ in the Caselaw of the European Court of Human Rights

This article analyses the development and the role of the ‘principle of rehabilitation’ in the European Court of Human Rights’ caselaw on prisoner rights. It will be demonstrated that, outside of the context of whole-life sentences, the impact of the principle on the Court’s reasoning process has been relatively limited, despite increasing reference by the Court to the growing importance of the principle. Further, that the Court allowing the pursuit of rehabilitation to be used as justification for interferences with other Convention rights within its caselaw undermines the link made by the Court between rehabilitation and human dignity. Finally, it is argued that a conception of rehabilitation that is underpinned by human dignity requires recognition of a positive duty on states to provide access to appropriate rehabilitative treatment for all prisoners.