Prisoners’ right to healthcare and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights – What to expect?
Prisoners’ right to healthcare and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights – What to expect?

Summary/Abstract: Prisoners, as a marginalized and vulnerable group, must have access to healthcare. The protection of their mental and physical integrity and their human dignity depend directly on it. The right of prisoners to medical care entails numerous and complex obligations for the state. The aim of this paper is therefore to identify the main norms that bind European countries in the area of healthcare for prisoners. This study contains a systematic analysis of the relevant case law of the European Court of Human Rights. In order to ensure that prisoners' rights do not remain an abstract category, the European Court of Human Rights has specified both the nature and the scope of states' obligations in this area. The research findings show that setting binding standards in the area of healthcare is an extremely complex issue given the unequal resources and circumstances in different European countries. However, it is undisputed that the well-being of inmates must be taken into account, as well as the specific prison conditions, which have an additional negative impact on health. In particular, it should be borne in mind that prisoners should enjoy roughly the same level and quality of healthcare as any other citizen in the specific country. Authors conclude that states that do not fulfill their obligations to maintain and improve the health of prisoners violate their human rights. Zatvorenici kao marginalizovana i ranjiva grupa moraju uživati pravo na zdravstvenu zaštitu. Od navedenog neposredno zavisi zaštita njihovog mentalnog i telesnog integriteta, te ljudskog dostojanstva. Pravo zatvorenika na zdravstvenu zaštitu implicira brojne i kompleksne obaveze države. Otuda je cilj rada da izdvoji ključne standarde koji obavezuju evropske države u domenu zdravstvene zaštite osuđenih. Metod koji je primenjen podrazumeva sistemsku analizu relevatnih evropskih dokumenata i slučajeva iz prakse Evropskog suda za ljudska prava. Kako prava zatvorenika ne bi ostala samo jedna apstraktna kategorija, Evropski sud za ljudska prava je konkretizovao kako vrstu, tako i obim obaveza koje države imaju u tom domenu. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju da je postavljanje obavezujućih standarda izuzetno kompleksno pitanje, s obzirom na nejednake prilike u različitim evropskim državama. Ipak, nesporno je da se mora voditi računa o dobrobiti osuđenika, kao i o vrlo specifičnim zatvorskim uslovima koji dodatno negativno utiču na zdravlje. Posebno treba imati u vidu da zatvorenici treba da uživaju približno isti nivo i kvalitet zaštite, kao i ostali građani. Zaključujemo da one države koje ne ispunjavaju posebne obaveze u pogledu očuvanja i unapređenja zdravlja zatvorenika, zapravo povređuju njihova ljudska prava.

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