Prisoners' rights. Pre-trial detention vs. deprivation of liberty

Abstract

The principle of the presumption of innocence is recognised in most legal systems all over the world. That principle requires that public statements and official decisions from public authorities do not refer to the suspects or accused persons as if they were convicts before the final judgement. The trial detention restricts the rights and freedom in most degree. For this reason, it is important to develop such principles for the enforcement of pre-trial detention that the freedom of the individual detained as part of criminal proceedings be limited to the minimum before the final and binding sentence. The objective of this article is not only to present the normative shape of the enforcement of pre-trial detention in the light of Polish regulations and compile a catalogue of limitations resulting from the application of this measure, but also to compare the actual situation of a person placed under pre-trial detention to that of a person serving the penalty of deprivation of liberty.