국제수형자이송제도의 도입과 운영의 실제

Abstract

Ministry of Justice in Korea established an『Act of International Transfers of Prisoners』 in December 2003 and joined to the 『Convention of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons』 agreed by Council of Europe this year. This will enable Korean government to bring Korean nationals who serve their criminal sentences in foreign countries into Korea and, at the same time, to transfer foreign prisoners who serve their sentences in Korean facilities to their homeland. The purpose of the international transfers of prisoners is to bring the nationals who serve their criminal sentences in foreign countries into the homeland to minimize the suffering from cultural differences such as language, food and custom that exacerbate the harshness of confinement. The procedures of international transfer of prisoners can be summarized as follows; First, the prisoners must give an agreement on their transfer to the homeland. Second, the offence that resulted in a given sentence in a foreign country must also constitute an offence by a relevant domestic law Third, two corresponding countries must agree on the transfer of prisoner on an individual basis. Fourth, after transferring to the homeland, the prisoner must serve the remainder of his sentence in a domestic facility. Finally, the decisions of release on parole or pardon must rely on the domestic legal criteria. By introducing the system of transfer of prisoners among different countries, correctional policy in Korea shows a great advance in terms of the values of rehabilitation and reintegration as well as protections of prisoner's rights. Not only practitioners but also scholars in this field should show their interests in this subject.