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Capital punishment in Europe

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Europe holds the greatest concentration of abolitionist states (blue). Map current as of 2022
  Abolished for all offences
  Abolished in practice
  Retains capital punishment

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

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Further information: Capital punishment by country
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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.

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 Azerbaijan, which have signed but not yet ratified. Still, Azerbaijan had already abolished capital punishment in 1998. Armenia is the latest country to ratify Protocol 13 in February 2024, having however abolished the death penalty since 2003.[5]

The 21st century

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The only country in Europe that continues to execute in the 21st century is Belarus (last execution done in 2022).[6]

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.[7][8]

History

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Abolition has been common in European history, but has only been a real trend since the end of the Second World War when human rights became a particular priority. The Kingdom of Italy had abolished the death penalty for civilians with the adoption of the Zanardelli Penal Code of 1889 (previously it had not been applied in Tuscany alone since 1859, or even earlier, for brief periods starting in 1786), but the Fascists reintroduced capital punishment in 1926, then expanding its range of cases with the 1930 Penal Code.

The European Convention on Human Rights was adopted in 1950, but some countries took many years to ratify it. The United Kingdom retained the death penalty for high treason until 1998; however, this technicality was superseded by the absolute ban on the death penalty in 1976. William Joyce was the last person to be put to death for high treason in the UK, on 3 January 1946 at Wandsworth Prison.

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.[9]

The European Union has long since been opposed to the death penalty, supporting the European Convention, and its 2000 Charter of Fundamental Rights included an absolute ban on the death penalty in all circumstances. The Charter has been made legally binding by the Treaty of Lisbon as it was fully ratified and became effective on 1 December 2009.[10] The treaty also has a provision for the EU to join the Council of Europe and accede to the European Convention on Human Rights. The EU has been an active promoter of abolition worldwide and has been promoting a United Nations moratorium on the death penalty; however some EU member state such as Poland have opposed such moves.[citation needed] The only member state to have performed executions in Europe whilst a Member of the EU or EEC is France, last shooting a prisoner in 1963 and last beheading one with the guillotine in 1977. The death penalty was abolished in France in 1981. All other states had effectively abolished Capital Punishment before joining the EU, at least in their metropolitan European Territory. Two hangings were carried out later in 1977 in Bermuda, a Special Territory of the EU as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom, (after the United Kingdom joined the EC in 1973). Due to later abolition dates in countries that joined later, there have been more recent executions in places that are now part of the EU, the most recent example being Latvia which shot a prisoner in 1996.

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.[11]

Country Method Year of last use (peacetime) Abolished (peacetime) Year of last use (wartime) Abolished (wartime)
Albania Albania Firing squad, hanging[12] 1992[13] 2000 ? 2007
Andorra Andorra Garrotte, firing squad 1943 1990 ? 1996?
Armenia Armenia Single shot 1991 2003 ? 2003[14]
Austria Austria Hanging 1950[15] 1950 ? 1968?
Belarus Belarus Single shot 2022[16] – ? –
Belgium Belgium Guillotine, firing squad 1950 1996 1950[17] 1996
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Firing squad 1977[18] 2000 ? 2000?
Bulgaria Bulgaria Firing squad 1989 1998 ? 1998?
Croatia Croatia Firing squad 1987 1990 ? 1997?
Cyprus Cyprus Hanging 1962 2002 ? 2002?
Czech Republic Czech Republic Hanging 1989 1990[19] 1948[20] 1990[19]
Denmark Denmark Decapitation, firing squad 1892 1930 1950[21] 1994
Estonia Estonia Single shot 1991 1998 ? 1998?
Finland Finland Firing squad, hanging 1825 1949 1944 1972
France France Guillotine, firing squad 1977 1981[22] 1961 1981
Germany Germany Guillotine, hanging, firing squad 1951[23] 1981 1951 1987
Georgia (country) Georgia Shooting 1995 1997 1993 1997
Greece Greece Firing squad 1972 1975 ? 2004
Hungary Hungary Hanging 1988 1990 ? 1990
Iceland Iceland Public beheading 1830 1928 – 1928
Republic of Ireland Ireland Hanging 1954 1990 1922 2002
Italy Italy Firing squad 1947 1948 1947[24] 1994
Kosovo Kosovo Firing squad 1987[25] 1999[26] ? 1999[25]
Latvia Latvia Shooting 1996 1999 ? 2012
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein Public beheading 1785 1989 ? 1989
 Lithuania Shooting 1995 1996 ? 1998[27]
Luxembourg Luxembourg Hanging, firing squad[28] 1948[28] 1979[14] 1949[28] 1979[14]
Malta Malta Hanging 1943 1971 1942 2000
Moldova Moldova ? None since independence[29] 1995[30] None since independence[29] 2005[31]
Monaco Monaco Guillotine 1929[32] 1962 or 1964[32][33] ? 1962 or 1964[33][32]
Montenegro Montenegro Firing squad 1981[34] 2002 None since independence 2002
Netherlands Netherlands Hanging, firing squad 1860 1870 1952[35] 1983
North Macedonia North Macedonia Firing squad 1988[15] 1991[36] ? 1991[36]
Norway Norway Beheading, firing squad 1876[37] 1902 1948[38] 1979
Poland Poland Hanging 1988 1997[39] ? 1997[39]
Portugal Portugal Hanging, garrotte, firing squad 1846 1867 1917[15] 1976
Romania Romania Firing squad 1989 1990 ? 1991
Russia Russia Single shot 1999 (in Chechnya)[40][41]
1996 (mainland Russia)[3]		 –[3] ? –[3]
San Marino San Marino Hanging 1468[15] or 1667[42] 1848 ? 1865
Serbia Serbia Firing squad[43] 1992 2002 ? 2002
Slovakia Slovakia Hanging 1989 1990[44] None since independence 1990[44]
Slovenia Slovenia Hanging 1959[45] 1989 ? 1991
 Spain Garrotte, firing squad 1975 1978 1939 1995
Sweden Sweden Guillotine, beheading, hanging 1910 1921 ? 1973
Switzerland Switzerland Beheading, firing squad 1940 1942 1944[15] 1992
Turkey Turkey Hanging 1984 2002 1921[46] 2004
Ukraine Ukraine Single shot 1997[47] 2000[48][49] ? 2000[48][49]
United Kingdom United Kingdom Hanging 1964 1965 (suspended) 1969 (abolished) 1953 1998
Vatican City 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 occupying Nazi German forces between August 1943 and May 1945. Executions carried out by the police.

Former countries

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Country Method Year of last use (peacetime) Abolished (peacetime) Year of last use (wartime) Abolished (wartime)
East Germany East Germany Guillotine, single shot 1981 1987 1945 1987

Belarus

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Main article: Capital punishment in 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

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Main article: Capital punishment in Russia

Capital punishment in Russia has been indefinitely suspended, although it still remains codified in its law. There exists both an implicit moratorium established by the President Yeltsin in 1996, and an explicit one, established by the Constitutional Court of Russia in 1999 and which was most recently reaffirmed in 2009. Russia has not executed anyone in the Russian Federation since August or September 1996[50] (except one in 1999 in the Chechen Republic, a former limited recognition state). However, Russia was suspended from the Council of Europe in the wake of its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and subsequently announced its intention to withdraw from the organization before being effectively expelled, former President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev endorsed restoring death penalty in Russia.[51][52]

Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Main article: Capital punishment in 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.[53]

Separatist territories and partially recognized jurisdictions

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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.[54]

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.[55] Although there have been 10 sentences of death in Abkhazia, these have never been implemented.[56]

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus retains the death penalty only for crimes committed under special circumstances (war crimes). See also Capital punishment in Cyprus.

There is no death penalty in Kosovo.[57]

The Donetsk People's Republic introduced the death penalty in 2014 for cases of treason, espionage, and assassination of political leaders. There had already been accusations of extrajudicial execution occurring.[58][59]

The Luhansk People's Republic introduced the death penalty on 26 September 2014 in cases of homosexual rape.[59]

Polling

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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.[60]

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.[61]

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.[62]

In Hungary 76%[63] and Serbia 58%[64] have majority in support for the death penalty.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "International law: abolition protocols ratified last month". World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. 20 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Death Penalty in Russian Federation". Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide. Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d The Constitutional Court forbids death penalty use in Russia, Lenta.Ru, 11 November 2009
  4. ^ "Condemned prisoner's death date revealed more than a year after the execution". 17 February 2023.
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ "Condemned prisoner's death date revealed more than a year after the execution". 17 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Death Penalty - Совет Европы". Archived from the original on 5 February 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  8. ^ "NTC – Bancadati". www.handsoffcain.info.
  9. ^ Phillips, Leigh (30 March 2010) Europe's first ever execution-free year undone by Belarus, EU Observer
  10. ^ Q&A: The Lisbon Treaty BBC News
  11. ^ PACE Rapporteurs condemn death sentence handed down in Belarus, Press release of 3 May 2013, Council of Europe.
  12. ^ "Rruga për heqjen e dënimit me vdekje në Shqipëri". Dita.
  13. ^ "Dënimi i fundit me vdekje në Shqipëri më 1992 (Foto/Video, +18)". Telegrafi.
  14. ^ a b c "Death Penalty : International Views on the Death Penalty". Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  15. ^ a b c d e "The end of capital punishment in Europe", capitalpunishmentuk.org, accessed 2008-08-08.
  16. ^ "Condemned prisoner's death date revealed more than a year after the execution". 17 February 2023.
  17. ^ The death penalty: a few notions Kingdom of Belgium Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, 2010
  18. ^ "Dušan Prodić". SPSK. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  19. ^ a b "175/1990 Sb". www.psp.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  20. ^ Jaroš, Petr. "Historie trestu smrti v českých zemích – Lidská práva". www.lidskaprava.cz. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  21. ^ "46 henrettede danskere i tysk tjeneste". ditt.almanet.dk. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  22. ^ America's Deadly Image Washington Post, 20 February 2001
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ "La pena di morte". www.massacritica.eu.
  25. ^ a b "Skazna > News > Current".
  26. ^ "United Nations – UNMIK". unmik.unmissions.org. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  27. ^ "NTC – Bancadati". www.handsoffcain.info.
  28. ^ a b c "Dark Luxembourg: "Cruel, inhuman, and degrading": the death penalty in Luxembourg". today.rtl.lu. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  29. ^ a b Roger Hood and Carolyn Hoyle (2008, 4th ed.). The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective (Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-922847-7) app. 1.
  30. ^ "Abolition of the death penalty in Moldova". Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  31. ^ "NTC – Bancadati". www.handsoffcain.info.
  32. ^ a b c "Monaco Ends Death Penalty". The New York Times. 20 June 1964. ProQuest 115538228. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  33. ^ a b "NTC – Bancadati". www.handsoffcain.info.
  34. ^ "Dragiša Ristić". SPSK. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  35. ^ (in Dutch) De doodstraf in Nederland: Laatste twee executies in 1952 Geschiedenis 24, 11 March 2010.
  36. ^ a b "NTC – Bancadati". www.handsoffcain.info.
  37. ^ "DEN SISTE HALSHUGGINGEN". digitaltfortalt.no.
  38. ^ "1948: Ragnar Skancke, the last executed in Norway". 28 August 2014.
  39. ^ a b "NTC – Bancadati". www.handsoffcain.info.
  40. ^ "Amnesty International Report 1999 - Russian Federation". Refworld. 1 January 1999.
  41. ^ "The abolition of the death penalty and its alternative sanction in Eastern Europe: Belarus, Russia and Ukraine" (PDF). www.penalreform.org. 2012.
  42. ^ "1865. San Marino decide la completa abolizione della pena di morte". sanmarinortv.sm (in Italian). 10 October 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  43. ^ "smrtnakazna.rs" (PDF).
  44. ^ a b "NTC – Bancadati". www.handsoffcain.info.
  45. ^ "Franc Rihtarič". SPSK. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  46. ^ Last wartime executions were carried out during the Turkish War of Independence at the hands of the 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.
  47. ^ "Annual Report 1999 – Ukraine". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 9 November 1999.
  48. ^ a b The Death Penalty: Beyond Abolition, Council of Europe, 2004, ISBN 9287153337 (page 74)
  49. ^ a b International Actors, Democratization and the Rule of Law: Anchoring Democracy?, Routledge, 2008, ISBN 0415492955 (page 196 a.f.)
  50. ^ "«Фишер», «Удав», «Ученик Чикатило»: кто был последним казненным в России преступником". Gazeta.Ru. 2 August 2021.
  51. ^ Times, The Moscow (10 March 2022). "Russia Quits Europe's Rule of Law Body, Sparking Questions Over Death Penalty". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  52. ^ "Dmitry Medvedev vows to reintroduce death penalty". The Independent Barents Observer. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  53. ^ "Ustavni sud BiH ukinuo smrtnu kaznu u Republici Srpskoj".
  54. ^ "Position of the Parliamentary Assembly as regards the Council of Europe member and observer states which have not abolished the death penalty". Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  55. ^ "Commonwealth of Independent States: Belarus - the sole executioner". 26 September 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  56. ^ "UNPO: The Death Penalty Must Order its Final Meal". www.unpo.org. 2 November 2009.
  57. ^ "Carte interactive : la peine de mort dans le monde". www.diplomatie.gouv.fr.
  58. ^ "Donetsk Separatists Introduce Death Penalty for Treason". 18 August 2014.
  59. ^ a b "Belarus and Ukrainian rebels keep death penalty alive in Europe". April 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  60. ^ "70 percent of Estonians support capital punishment". 15 June 2015.
  61. ^ "Massive jump in number of French people in favour of the death penalty - poll". 17 September 2020.
  62. ^ "Slight Increase in Support for Death Penalty for Convicted Terrorists". Redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  63. ^ "Most Hungarians support the reinstatement of the death penalty - Daily News Hungary". 27 October 2020.
  64. ^ "More than half of Serbians support capital punishment". 10 October 2019.
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