Enforcing Rights and Accessing Justice from Pre-Trial Detention : European perspectives

On 21 September 2026 at 13:00 CET, Centre for European and Constitutional Law, European Prison Litigation Network, Human Rights Centre ZMINA and Forum Penal – Associação de Advogados Penalistas will hold an online conference titled “Enforcing Rights and Accessing Justice from Pre-Trial Detention: European perspectives” devoted to prisoners’ access to justice.

While prison legal frameworks have expanded prisoners’ ability to access justice, little attention has been paid to the practical conditions that enable prisoners to exercise that right. 

Building on the findings of the project DIGNITY conducted by the Center for European and Constitutional Law, the European Prison Litigation Network, the Human Rights Center ZMINA and Forum Penal – Associação de Advogados Penalistas, the conference will bring together legal practitioners from civil society organisations and bar associations, former detainees, researchers and international experts to discuss the structural, procedural and financial barriers that hinder prisoners’ effective access to legal assistance. 

How do prisoners gain access to relevant legal information to identify rights violations, in a field where domestic, European and international legal frameworks overlap? How do they navigate multiple procedures, each with its own admissibility criteria and rules? How do prisoners secure evidence and respond to the practical challenges of the adversarial relationship inherent in proceedings against the prison administration? What role do lawyers and civil society play in enabling access to justice from within detention? How do growing attacks on fundamental rule-of-law principles affect prisoners’ ability to exercise their procedural rights?

The conference will explore these questions and consider avenues for action at the European level.

The translation will be provided in the following languages: English, Greek, French, Portuguese and Ukrainian.

Registration is required to join the conference.

This event is funded by the European Union.