Formal legal cooperation in matters relating to prisoners has existed at European level for over 50 years. With the development of an European Union (EU) competence in criminal law from the Treaty of Maastricht 1992 onwards, now both the Council of Europe and the EU have adopted legal instruments in this sphere. This paper analsyses the scope and rationale of transnational European cooperation relating to prisoners. It first outlines Council of Europe instruments, including the relevance of the European Convention of Human Rights, conventions specifically on prisoners, and soft law. It then examines the more recent EU instruments, following which the relevance of constitutional principles and the prospects and potential difficulties of European cooperation are analysed. It concludes that cooperation can best succeed through a specification of minimum standards and greater coordination between Council of Europe and EU action, along with greater recognition of its specifically penal context.

中文翻译：

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欧洲囚犯法律合作的前景和问题

与囚犯有关的正式法律合作已在欧洲层面存在 50 多年。随着 1992 年《马斯特里赫特条约》以来欧盟 (EU) 在刑法方面的能力的发展，现在欧洲委员会和欧盟都通过了该领域的法律文书。本文分析了与囚犯相关的跨国欧洲合作的范围和基本原理。它首先概述了欧洲委员会的文书，包括《欧洲人权公约》、专门关于囚犯的公约和软法的相关性。然后检查最近的欧盟文书，然后分析宪法原则的相关性以及欧洲合作的前景和潜在困难。