Individual security in the context of serving a prison sentence – the European dimension

This paper examines the issue of individual security in the context of serving a prison sentence from a European perspective. The aim of this paper is to assess how European human rights standards, including the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the guidelines of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), impact the physical, psychological, and social safety of persons deprived of their liberty. The paper identifies the main research problem – the tension between protecting society and respecting the rights and dignity of prisoners – and formulates hypotheses regarding both the effectiveness of European standards and the difficulties of implementing them in various prison systems. Methodologically, the article is based on an analysis of international and European law documents, so-called soft law acts, ECtHR case law, and CPT reports, supplemented by comparative methods and content analysis. The research findings indicate that European standards significantly improve the level of individual security, while emphasizingthe need to maintain a balance between protecting society, rehabilitating prisoners, and respecting their dignity.