Conditional release is a legal institute that allows a convicted person to be released from serving their prison sentence before the entire sentence has been served, provided certain conditions specified by the Criminal Law are met.
Conditions for Conditional Release:
- The convicted person has served at least two-thirds of their prison sentence;
There are circumstances indicating that the convicted person has rehabilitated during their prison sentence and can reasonably be expected to behave well in freedom, particularly that they will not commit a new criminal offense before the expiration of the sentence (based on their behavior during incarceration, compliance with work obligations, etc.);
The convicted person has not been punished twice for serious disciplinary offenses during their sentence, and no privileges have been revoked; and
The conviction is not for the following criminal offenses: premeditated murder, rape, sexual assault of a helpless person, sexual assault of a child, or sexual abuse of position.
If these conditions are met, the court is obligated to release the convicted person on conditional release ( parole ). In certain situations, the application of conditional release is not mandatory for the court but is instead discretionary. This applies to individuals sentenced to life imprisonment, who may be conditionally released after serving 27 years in prison, provided they meet other conditions for conditional release. It also applies to individuals convicted of specific criminal offenses (such as crimes against humanity and other goods protected by international law, crimes against sexual freedom, domestic violence, bribery, etc.), individuals who have been previously convicted more than three times, and individuals convicted by special divisions of competent courts. Therefore, in these cases, the court may, but is not required to, release the convicted individual from serving their sentence.
When the court issues a decision on conditional release, it may also impose certain obligations on the released person, as prescribed by criminal law regulations. Once a convicted person is granted conditional release, and the release is not revoked during the duration of the conditional release, the person is considered to have served their sentence.
The court will revoke the conditional release if the convicted person commits one or more criminal offenses while on conditional release for which a prison sentence of more than one year has been imposed. If a new criminal offense is committed for which the sentence is up to one year or if the person fails to adhere to the imposed obligations, the court may, but is not obligated to, revoke the conditional release.
Request for Conditional Release
Even if the conditions for applying this institute are met, the procedure will not be initiated ex officio. The convicted person or their defense counsel must submit a petition for conditional release, which will be decided by the panel that decided in the first instance. Upon receiving the petition for conditional release, the court panel will examine whether the procedural prerequisites and legal conditions for applying this institute are met. If any legal conditions are not met, the court panel will reject the petition by decision.
During the decision-making process on the petition for conditional release, the court panel must obtain a report from the penitentiary where the convicted person is serving their sentence. The report should include observations regarding the convicted person’s behavior. After gathering the necessary reports and data, a special hearing will be scheduled, during which statements will be taken from the convicted person, their defense counsel, the public prosecutor, and the representative of the penitentiary. The court panel will immediately issue a decision at the conclusion of the hearing, either rejecting or approving the petition for conditional release, taking into account the risk assessment of the convicted person, their success in completing the rehabilitation program, prior convictions, life circumstances, and the expected effect of conditional release on the convicted person. An appeal is allowed against this decision.