Journal of the Charles University Law Faculty
Iva Hauptfleischová
Author’s affiliation:
Faculty of Law, Masaryk University Brno
The Right of a Child to Maintain Contact with an Imprisoned Parent
Jurisprudence 2/2018 Section: Articles Page: 14–25
Keywords: penitentiary, rights of a child, prisoners’ rights, right to maintain contact
Abstract: The article deals with the current issue of maintaining contact between individual serving a prison sentence and their children. Imprisonment is naturally linked to the restriction of the right to family life of prisoners and their family members, however, contact of the prisoner with their child is very important on both sides, and the state should ensure that family ties are not broken. The person having a child in their care often prevents the child from maintaining contact with the prisoner. In such a case, the prisoner is in a very difficult situation, and until recently they had almost no means of ensuring contact with their child. In this respect, the Constitutional Court’s new case law in this area is favourable for prisoners and, thereunder, courts should regulate the contact of the child with the imprisoned parent. The article generally deals with the right of the child and the parent to maintain mutual contact, the restriction of this right in relation to the imprisonment of a parent, and it discusses two recent judgements of the Constitutional Court.
