Introduction

National penal policies and prison policies are, in Europe, increasingly controlled and monitored by both the Council of Europe and the European Union. Despite the long-term development of the European monitoring of penal policies and some legal studies of the phenomenon, little empirical research has been done into their influence over penal and prison policies. Little attention has been paid to the overall European structures of control and their effect on the shaping and monitoring of penal and prison policies. The European Court of Human Rights has played an increasingly prominent role in the course of its history although its authority is challenged in a growing number of States, leading to a greater attention to the principle of subsidiarity. The Council of Europe and, to a lesser extent, the European Union have increasingly monitored national penal and prison policies over time.