Hungary (From Imprisonment Today and Tomorrow: International Perspectives on Prisoners' Rights and Prison Conditions, P 335-355, 1991, Dirk van Zyl Smit and Frieder Dunkel, eds. -- See NCJ-133824)

• NCJ Number: 133833
• Author(s): F Nagy
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 20 pages
• Sale Source: Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

The use of imprisonment has declined in Hungary in recent years and is likely to undergo further changes during the current efforts to establish a democratic country under a reformed legal system.

Abstract

However, the country's economic difficulties, the probable future increase in the crime rate, and public demands for severe and deterrent sentences are likely to hinder correctional reforms. The current Criminal Code, enacted in 1978, contains a dual system of sanctions by regulating both punishment and preventive measures. The prison system currently consists of 33 county and national prisons, medical institutions, and a central institution for those sentenced to reformative and educational labor. The law provides for administrative handling of inmate grievances, the right to medical services, the use of disciplinary measures, the right to visits, and conditional release. Future reforms will probably combine the beneficial traditions and experiences of the Hungarian with some of the proven practices of the European systems, based on a growing recognition of prisoners' rights and the need for offender resocialization and rehabilitation. Tables and 17 references