Re-Individualizing the Criminal Sanctions of Deprivation of Liberty in the European Union

The recognition and subsequently the execution of criminal penalties of deprivation of liberty byanother Member State, other than the one of the conviction, is an act of mutual trust between Member Statesof the European Union. However, the differences between criminal legal norms, particularly regarding theminimum and maximum limits of some punishment prescribed for the same offense, require a differentapproach in the sense that a member can not recognize and then enforce a sentence of deprivation of libertywith the maximum limits greater than its own legislation, for the same offense. This very sensitive issue wasresolved by adopting the Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA of the Council from 27 November 2008, wherethe European legislative act allows the executing Member State the re-individualization of the deprivation ofliberty sentence, the goal being that the penalty imposed is compatible with the internal law of theenforcement state. In the implementation of European legislative act depositions, any member State whichhas recognized such a court order, based on a legal decision ordered by a competent judicial body may stillre-individualize the penalty regarding its maximum limit. The examination of the European legislative acthighlights also some flaws that must be corrected, taking into account the possibility for the executingMember States to fully modify the applied punishment, as regards both its nature and its proportion applied inthe sentencing State.