Toni Kedzo grew up in Aachen and eventually moved to Cologne after graduating from high school to study law with a focus on criminology, juvenile criminal law and law enforcement. During his studies, he worked as a student assistant in the law seminar. He passed the First State Examination in September 2019 and has been a research assistant and doctoral student at the Institute for Eastern European Law and Comparative Law and the Academy for European Human Rights Protection, respectively, which was founded during this time, since January 2020.
In addition to research work, he is interested in international (legal) policy developments within prison law and human rights protection in this field. Besides academia, he spends his time with music, cooking, good espresso and philosophising with fellow human beings.
- European Human Rights Law
- Comparative Law
- Penology
- Criminal Etiology
- Sanction Research
Currently, Toni Kedzo works on his dissertation on the topic "The resocialization concept of the ECHR".
Description
Resocialisation, rehabilitation, socialisation, (re)socialisation or improvement, even education of the offender? In addition to the different choice of terms around the topic of reintegration of offenders into society, there are countless different ideas of whether, when and how this reintegration should and can take place. From state to state, federal state to federal state or even correctional institution to correctional institution, different answers and views can be found for these questions.
In this context, imprisonment always initially means the loss of freedoms. As a "total institution", prison promotes isolation, deprivation and complete external regulation of daily life. This system, which is reminiscent of an administration of human life, interferes with the most sensitive rights of the individual, which we otherwise try to protect by all means in our free democratic basic order. Imprisonment is infliction of suffering. Pure incarceration only temporarily protects society from crime, but it strengthens or builds criminogenic factors in the incarcerated, weakens social networks, exacerbates monetary deficits and thus increases the risk of recidivism after release from prison. This makes it all the more important to strive to establish a sustainable concept that offers both society and the deviant individual the greatest possible perspectives and opportunities. On the way to a more humane penal system, the adapted purpose of social reintegration of people who have committed crimes could play a central role.
But how was this purpose pursued in the past? What differences can be discerned between the individual national European penal practices and what trends are emerging? How has the case law of the European Court of Human Rights developed in this area? Can the ECtHR help to achieve a European consensus with regard to divergent practices of the Convention states or consolidate an already existing consensus in the long term? How could the ECHR serve as a basis for a possible resocialisation concept? Can a possible concept already be derived from the judgements handed down? What effectiveness would it have under international law? Would it stand up to current scientific findings? These are all central questions that will be addressed in this thesis.
In summary, it will examine whether the ECtHR follows the spirit of the times with regard to the resocialisation of the offender or might even be able to justify it.
