ABSTRACT
The Austrian Criminal Code provides in principle an early — conditional — release from a custodial sentence under three preconditions: the prisoner has served a minimum period of the sentence (half of the term, but not less than three months for adults or one month for juveniles and young adults); the conditional release has at least the same special preventative effect on the offender as serving the remainder of the prison term; and the termination of the period of supervision from one to three years. The decision is made by a senate of the regional court where the prisoner is under arrest. There is an additional provision for foreign prisoners who agree to leave the country, as well as special rules for conditional release from indeterminate preventative detention.
Although Austria has quite a long history of legal instruments for conditional release, the legal provisions and, especially, release practice were very restrictive until a reform of the Criminal Code brought a significant increase in the use of early release instruments. In 2008, therefore, a steep rise in early release numbers was observed. If all the mechanisms for conditional release, pardon and the suspension of initially-unsuspended sentences are grouped together, a long-term trend towards more early release decisions becomes apparent. Together with a reduction in pre-trial detention and a decrease in admissions in general, this led to a reduction of the prison population in 2008. However, recent data from 2009 show an increase in the 50prison population, which might be threatening the long-term effect of the reform.
