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Concepts and definitions

Conditional discharge

A prisoner serving a fixed-term imprisonment sentence can be discharged conditionally before the end of the term of punishment.

Convict prisoner

A convict prisoner has been placed in a penal institution to serve a sentence of unconditional imprisonment, a sentence of conditional imprisonment he/she has been ordered to serve in a penal institution, and/or the remaining sentence after having lost the right to probation.

Criminal Sanctions Agency

The Criminal Sanctions Agency belongs to the administrative field of the Ministry of Justice and is responsible for managing and developing the implementation of community service and imprisonment sentences.

Default prisoner

A default prisoner is a person serving a conversion sentence in lieu of an unpaid fine. A conversion sentence is passed for a person sentenced to a fine if efforts to collect the fine have been unsuccessful (Penal Code, Chapter 2 a, Section 4). The main rule is that three unpaid day fines correspond to imprisonment for one day. When passing a conversion sentence for a penalty payment, imposed as a lump sum, every EUR 30 corresponds to imprisonment for one day. A conversion sentence shall be passed for at least four days and at most 60 days. A summary penal fee or a fine passed for a breach of the peace may not be converted to imprisonment.

Pecuniary penalties given in summary penal proceedings are not converted to imprisonment ( 29 Aug. 2008/578).

Mean number of prisoners

The mean number of prisoners refers to the daily average number of prisoners during a calendar year.

Penal institution

Penal institution (types of institution) include closed and open institutions.

Open institutions include open prisons, open prison units and labour colonies which the criminal sanctions agency has ordered to function as open institutions. Open prisons are independent institutions whereas open prison units function administratively under some closed institution.

Prisoner

The general term prisoner can be used to refer to convicts or default prisoners.

Prisoner

A prisoner is a person who is either a convict, default or remand prisoner.

Remand prisoner

A remand prisoner is a person imprisoned in a prison due to a suspected offence. The decision to imprison is made by a court of justice.

Also a prosecuted person who is imprisoned while waiting for the decision of a Court of Appeal on a sentence imposed by a District Court is a remand prisoner, even if he/she was the only party who appealed the decision.

Persons in police custody are not included in these statistics.