Capital punishment in Europe
Capital punishment has been completely abolished in all European countries except for Belarus and Russia, the latter of which has a moratorium and has not carried out an execution since September 1996. The complete ban on capital punishment is enshrined in both the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (EU) and two widely adopted protocols of the European Convention on Human Rights of the Council of Europe, and is thus considered a central value. Of all modern European countries, San Marino, Portugal, and the Netherlands were the first to abolish capital punishment, whereas only Belarus still practises capital punishment in some form or another. In 2012, Latvia became the last EU member state to abolish capital punishment in wartime.[1]
In Russia, capital punishment has been indefinitely suspended (under moratorium) since 1996.[2][3]
Except for Belarus, which, most recently, carried out one execution in 2022,[4] the last execution in a European country occurred in Ukraine in 1997.
Abolition
Legal instruments in Europe
The Council of Europe has two main instruments against capital punishment: Protocol 6 and Protocol 13.
Protocol 6, opened for signing in 1983, which prohibits capital punishment during peacetime has been ratified by all members of the Council of Europe, except Russia (which has signed, but not ratified).
Protocol 13, opened for signing in 2002, prohibits capital punishment in all circumstances. All member states of the Council of Europe have ratified it, except Russia (that was eventually expelled from the organization due to its
The 21st century
The only country in Europe that continues to execute in the 21st century is Belarus (last execution done in 2022).[7]
No member of the Council of Europe has carried out executions in the 21st century. The last execution on the present day territory of the Council of Europe took place in 1997 in Ukraine.[8][9]
History
Abolition has been common in European history, but has only been a real trend since the end of the
The
A moratorium on the death penalty has been in place in Russia since 1 January 2010. According to the 19 November 2009 decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the death penalty shall not be practiced in Russia at any time before the ratification of the above-mentioned protocol. The Constitutional Court has also clarified that the decision is not an extension of the moratorium but the abolition of the capital punishment, since it will be no longer possible to practice it legally.
2009 was the first year that no one was executed anywhere in Europe, however in March 2010, Belarus executed the last two people on its death row.[10]
The European Union has long since been opposed to the death penalty, supporting the European Convention, and its 2000
The Council of Europe has made abolition of the death penalty a prerequisite for membership. As a result, no execution has taken place on the territory of the organisation's member states since 1997. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe continues to monitor the capital punishment issue. The current General Rapporteur on the abolition of the death penalty for the Parliamentary Assembly is German Member of Parliament Marina Schuster.[12]
Country | Method | Year of last use (peacetime) | Abolished (peacetime) | Year of last use (wartime) | Abolished (wartime) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albania | Firing squad, hanging[13] | 1992[14] | 2000 | ? | 2007 |
Andorra | Garrotte, firing squad |
1943 | 1990 | ? | 1996? |
Armenia | Single shot | 1991 | 2003 | ? | 2003[15] |
Austria | Hanging | 1950[16] | 1950 | ? | 1968? |
Belarus | Single shot | 2022[17] | – | ? | – |
Belgium | Guillotine, firing squad | 1950 | 1996 | 1950[18] | 1996 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Firing squad | 1977[19] | 2000 | ? | 2000? |
Bulgaria | Firing squad | 1989 | 1998 | ? | 1998? |
Croatia | Firing squad | 1987 | 1990 | ? | 1997? |
Cyprus | Hanging | 1962 | 2002 | ? | 2002? |
Czech Republic | Hanging | 1989 | 1990[20] | 1948[21] | 1990[20] |
Denmark | Decapitation, firing squad | 1892 | 1930 | 1950[22] | 1994 |
Estonia | Single shot | 1991 | 1998 | ? | 1998? |
Finland | Firing squad, hanging | 1825 | 1949 | 1944 | 1972 |
France | Guillotine, firing squad | 1977 | 1981[23] | 1961 | 1981 |
Germany | Guillotine, hanging, firing squad | 1951[24] | 1981 | 1951 | 1987 |
Georgia | Shooting | 1995 | 1997 | 1993 | 1997 |
Greece | Firing squad | 1972 | 1975 | ? | 2004 |
Hungary | Hanging | 1988 | 1990 | ? | 1990 |
Iceland | Public beheading | 1830 | 1928 | – | 1928 |
Ireland | Hanging | 1954 | 1990 | 1922 | 2002 |
Italy | Firing squad | 1947 | 1948 | 1947[25] | 1994 |
Kosovo | Firing squad | 1987[26] | 1999[27] | ? | 1999[26] |
Latvia | Shooting | 1996 | 1999 | ? | 2012 |
Liechtenstein | Public beheading | 1785 | 1989 | ? | 1989 |
Lithuania | Shooting | 1995 | 1996 | ? | 1998[28] |
Luxembourg | Hanging, firing squad[29] | 1948[29] | 1979[15] | 1949[29] | 1979[15] |
Malta | Hanging | 1943 | 1971 | 1942 | 2000 |
Moldova | ? | None since independence[30] | 1995[31] | None since independence[30] | 2005[32] |
Monaco | Guillotine | 1929[33] | 1962 or 1964[33][34] | ? | 1962 or 1964[34][33] |
Montenegro | Firing squad | 1981[35] | 2002 | None since independence | 2002 |
Netherlands | Hanging, firing squad | 1860 | 1870 | 1952[36] | 1983 |
North Macedonia | Firing squad | 1988[16] | 1991[37] | ? | 1991[37] |
Norway | Beheading, firing squad | 1876[38] | 1902 | 1948[39] | 1979 |
Poland | Hanging | 1988 | 1997[40] | ? | 1997[40] |
Portugal | Hanging, garrotte, firing squad | 1846 | 1867 | 1917[16] | 1976 |
Romania | Firing squad | 1989 | 1990 | ? | 1991 |
Russia | Single shot | 1999 (in Chechnya)[41][42] 1996 (mainland Russia)[3] |
–[3] | ? | –[3] |
San Marino | Hanging | 1468[16] or 1667[43] | 1848 | ? | 1865 |
Serbia | Firing squad[44] | 1992 | 2002 | ? | 2002 |
Slovakia | Hanging | 1989 | 1990[45] | None since independence | 1990[45] |
Slovenia | Hanging | 1959[46] | 1989 | ? | 1991 |
Spain | Garrotte, firing squad | 1975 | 1978 | 1939 | 1995 |
Sweden | Guillotine, beheading, hanging | 1910 | 1921 | ? | 1973 |
Switzerland | Beheading, firing squad | 1940 | 1942 | 1944[16] | 1992 |
Turkey | Hanging | 1984 | 2002 | 1921[47] | 2004 |
Ukraine | Single shot | 1997[48] | 2000[49][50] | ? | 2000[49][50] |
United Kingdom | Hanging | 1964 | 1965 (suspended) 1969 (abolished) | 1953 | 1998 |
Vatican City | Mazzatello, hanging, beheading, guillotine | 1870 (as Papal States) | 1969 | ? | 1969 |
Only used once, at the very last execution in Sweden Abandoned totally in 1930, however reintroduced 1945-1950 for certain collaborations with the occuping Nazi Germany between August 1943 and May 1945. Executions carried out by the police.
Former countries
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021) |
Country | Method | Year of last use (peacetime) | Abolished (peacetime) | Year of last use (wartime) | Abolished (wartime) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
East Germany | Guillotine, single shot | 1981 | 1987 | 1945 | 1987 |
Belarus
The only European country that executes criminals is Belarus, as that country is not part of the European Convention on Human Rights. Executions in Belarus are carried out by shooting.
Russia
Capital punishment in Russia has been indefinitely suspended, although it still remains codified in its law. There exists both an implicit
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The death penalty in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been constitutionally abolished since 1995. However, it was only on 4 October 2019 that the capital punishment was completely erased from the Constitution of Republika Srpska, one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's two entities. While it was still in place, it was endorsed under Article 11 of the Constitution of Republika Srpska.[54]
Separatist territories and partially recognized jurisdictions
In Europe there are also partially unrecognized states. In 2006, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe wrote that:
While Artsakh abolished the death penalty on 1 August 2003, when it decided to implement the Republic of Armenia's new Criminal Code on its territory, the other territories, Abkhazia, Transnistria and South Ossetia, have not done so, retaining capital punishment in their legislation both in peacetime and in wartime. As South Ossetia decided in 1992 to make Russian legislation applicable on its territory, it has observed a moratorium on executions since 1996. The death penalty is in the Transnistrian Criminal Code which came into force in 2002. In July 1999, de facto President Smirnov ordered a moratorium on executions, and there is said to be only one prisoner on death row in Transnistria.[55]
Abkhazia formalized its moratorium in 2007, moving towards full abolition. On 12 January 2007 the parliament of Abkhazia adopted a law entitled "Moratorium on the Death Penalty", establishing a moratorium on executions during peacetime. Since 1993 the country has had a de facto moratorium on executions.[56] Although there have been 10 sentences of death in Abkhazia, these have never been implemented.[57]
The
There is no death penalty in Kosovo.[58]
The
The Luhansk People's Republic introduced the death penalty on 26 September 2014 in cases of homosexual rape.[60]
Polling
Despite the fact that in Europe nearly all nations don't have the capital punishment, polling has found many nations in Europe have majority support for it and its return.
In 2015 a Poll found that 70% of Estonians are in favor of death penalty, this is an increase of support from then 62% in a 2010 poll.[61]
In 2020, a Ipsos/Sopra Steria survey showed that 55% of the French people support re-introduction of the death penalty. This was an increase.[62]
In April 2021 a poll found that 54% of Britons said they would support reinstating the death penalty for those convicted of terrorism in the United Kingdom. About a quarter (23%) of respondents said they would be opposed.[63]
In Serbia 64%, Hungary 76% and Slovakia 61% has majority in support for the death penalty.
See also
- Use of capital punishment by country
- Capital punishment abolitionism
- European Court of Human Rights
References
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- ^ Lenta.Ru, 11 November 2009
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- ^ "Full list". Treaty Office.
- ^ Protocol 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances CETS No.: 187 Council of Europe
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- ^ "Dënimi i fundit me vdekje në Shqipëri më 1992 (Foto/Video, +18)". Telegrafi.
- ^ a b c "Death Penalty : International Views on the Death Penalty". Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
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- ^ a b "175/1990 Sb". www.psp.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 26 April 2017.
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- ^ America's Deadly Image Washington Post, 20 February 2001
- ^ Capital punishment had been abolished in West Germany by the Basic Law in 1949. However, the Allied occupation forces were not subjected to this, so the Americans carried out the last executions on the West German soil after the abolishment of capital punishment. Yvonne Hötzel: Debatten um die Todesstrafe in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland von 1949 bis 1990. Berlin 2010, pp. 65 ff.
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- Independence Tribunals (Turkey). Seyid Riza and companions were also hanged after the Dersim rebellion; however, it is not officially considered a war, and they were tried according to the peacetime laws.
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- ^ "Dmitry Medvedev vows to reintroduce death penalty". The Independent Barents Observer. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
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