Post-sentencing preventive detention - A comparative analysis between New Zealand and Germany

Abstract

Preventive detention is a controversial topic particularly with regard to human rights. This issue becomes even more problematic when detention is imposed after offenders have served their sentence and the order has not been part of their original court sentence. Currently, New Zealand proposes a Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Bill that will allow post-sentencing preventive detention in order to protect the public from dangerous offenders that are likely to reoffend. In contrast, Germany has been challenged by the European Court of Human Rights and its Federal Constitutional Court in relation to its preventive detention schemes and was consequently forced to amend its laws. This dissertation analyses the civil detention regimes in both countries and pursues to answer the question whether post-sentencing preventive detention is necessary to protect the community from serious offenders.