ABSTRACT
Deprivation of the right to liberty after conviction by a court of law is explicitly authorised in many international and regional human rights treaties and national Constitutions. Elderly people are not exempted from imprisonment as a punishment for a crime. However, cruel, inhuman, degrading or unusual punishment is almost universally prohibited. Although imprisonment after conviction by a competent court per se is not regarded as cruel, inhuman, degrading or unusual punishment, courts at both international and national levels have interpreted respective provisions as imposing some limits on administration of imprisonment. Different courts and tribunals have interpreted the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment as putting limits on the method and manner of administration of imprisonment. Furthermore, the same provision has been interpreted as putting limits on prison sentences of excessive length and requiring rigorous procedural safeguards in order to ensure compatibility of ultimate sentences, such as life imprisonment, with human rights. This chapter explores the above outlined human rights limits of imprisonment with reference to the jurisprudence of some national and supranational courts. It aims to highlight the relevant principles in order to explore their applicability to continued imprisonment of elderly and seriously ill prisoners.
