In 2012, a law was passed whereby Dutch prisoners imprisoned in a European Union country can serve their sentences in the Netherlands. The sentence to be served there also applies in the Netherlands. It applies to all prison sentences, but also to community service orders and other conditions imposed by a foreign judge. At the end of 2014, all EU countries switched to the arrangement under which Dutch prisoners were allowed to come to the Netherlands under the Wets.
Law: prisoners abroad are allowed to come to the Netherlands
WETS is the law that regulates that Dutch convicts in EU countries can serve their sentences in the Netherlands. However, this requires criminal cooperation between the Member States of the European Union and the fact that they trust and adopt each other’s legal system and judicial decisions. In such a way that foreign judgments are in principle recognized and enforced. People from the Netherlands who have received a prison sentence abroad and who are also serving time in a foreign prison can serve the sentence in a Dutch prison under certain conditions.
Until early 2012: WOTS requests
It is not yet entirely clear whether the law will be introduced. Until early 2012, prisoners serving their sentences in the EU could only come to the Netherlands to continue serving their sentences there by submitting a WOTS request. However, the Dutch government was not obliged to cooperate at all and the grounds for refusal were unlimited. That will change under the new EU legislation. Under these rules, the Netherlands is obliged to recognize and execute the sentence if a judgment has been handed down in another EU member state.
Conditions for serving a sentence in the Netherlands that was imposed in another EU country
There are, however, rules attached to the transfer of prisoners to the Netherlands. For example, the detainee must have ties with the Netherlands. This means that he or she must have more than just Dutch nationality. For example, for a conviction abroad, a person must have lived in the Netherlands.
Submit a WETS request
Convicts in another country must submit a WETS request to be eligible. The judgment must be submitted and a completed certificate must be attached. If this has been completed satisfactorily, the WETS procedure will be assessed. The convicted person does not have to agree to the transfer to the Netherlands. The procedure takes an average of 6 to 20 months. The International Transfer of Criminal Sentences (IOS) department of the Judicial Institutions Service processes applications to convert the foreign prison sentence into a prison sentence that can be served in the Netherlands.
Will the punishment remain the same or will it change?
At the beginning of 2012, convicts can be transferred from a foreign prison to the Netherlands in two ways. This can be done via a
- Conversion procedure in which the foreign sentence is converted into a sentence that corresponds to Dutch criminal practice
- The procedure of continued enforcement. In that case, the sentence will not be adjusted, unless it is contrary to Dutch law. This is possible, for example, if the foreign sentence is much longer than the maximum sentence in the Netherlands.
Rather a decision about transfer to a Dutch prison
Anyone who submitted a WOTS request until the beginning of 2012 often had to wait 2 years or more. With the WETS, this period is considerably shortened. A decision must be made within 120 days and the person in question must be transferred to the Netherlands if this has been decided. However, those 120 days will only start once the Dutch justice system has received all the papers.
Not everyone is eligible for transfer from a foreign prison to the Netherlands
Not everyone who has been convicted in another EU member state can and will be transferred. The country where the person was convicted may decide not to cooperate. This is possible if, for example, someone has been convicted of an offense that has seriously shaken the legal order of that country or, for example, if there have been victims. WETS is therefore not an obligation to actually transfer someone from a foreign prison to a Dutch one.
When does WETS come into effect?
The law came into effect in 2012. The WETS procedure only applies to sentences that became irrevocable after December 5, 2011. Dutch people who have been sentenced up to that date and want to serve their sentence in the Netherlands must submit an (old) WOTS request.
Poland does not participate: Dutch people in Polish prisons must follow a WOTS procedure
Poland has indicated that it does not want to participate in WETS until 2016. Dutch people in a Polish prison must continue to follow a lengthy WOTS procedure if they want to be transferred. It was not yet known at the end of February 2012 whether other countries had also made reservations.
How many Dutch prisoners in prisons in other EU countries?
In 2011, more than thirteen hundred Dutch people were imprisoned in other EU prisons. Most of them were behind bars in Germany (400), followed by 291 in Spain and 177 in France. The first prisoners will probably come to the Netherlands in 2013-2014. It is estimated that 100 to 200 people will then come to Dutch prisons. But foreign prisoners from other EU member states then move from the Netherlands to their own home country.
Where does WOTS or WETS apply?
Not all EU countries have yet completed the introduction of EU regulations. At the end of 2014, sentences were transferred in certain EU countries on the basis of the WETS. The WOTS remained in force in all countries outside the EU with which the Netherlands has a treaty. More information about the Wets or Wots schemes can be found on About Wets and Wots.