Capital punishment in Europe - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Capital punishment

Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

has been abolished in almost all Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an countries (48 out of 50). The moratorium on the death penalty is enshrined in both the Charter of Fundamental Rights

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union enshrines certain political, social, and economic rights for European Union citizens and residents, into EU law. It was drafted by the European Convention and solemnly proclaimed on 7 December 2000 by the European Parliament, the Council of...

of the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

(EU) and the European Convention on Human Rights

European Convention on Human Rights

The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...

of the Council of Europe

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...

, and thus considered a central value. Of all modern European countries, San Marino

San Marino

San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino , is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino...

and Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

were the first to abolish and only Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

still practices capital punishment. Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

was the last EU Member State to abolish capital punishment in war times.

Abolition

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

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

became a particular priority. The European Convention on Human Rights

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

High treason

High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...

until 1998 (William Joyce

William Joyce

William Joyce , nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an Irish-American fascist politician and Nazi propaganda broadcaster to the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He was hanged for treason by the British as a result of his wartime activities, even though he had renounced his British nationality...

was the last person to be put to death for high treason in the UK, on 3 January 1946).

Latvia

Latvia

was the latest country (2011) to ratify protocol 13 in abolishing the penalty for all crimes. Azerbaijan and Russia have not signed protocol 13, while Armenia, and Poland have signed but not yet ratified. All have, however, abolished the death penalty.

A moratorium on death penalty has been in place in Russia until Jan 1, 2010. According to the Nov 19, 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

Belarus

executed the last two people on its death row.

The European Union (EU) has long since been against the death penalty, supporting the European Convention, and its 2000 Charter of Fundamental Rights

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

included an absolute ban on the death penalty in all circumstances. The Charter has been made legally binding by the Treaty of Lisbon

Treaty of Lisbon

The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....

as it got fully ratified and effective on December 1, 2009. 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 UN convention against it, however some national governments such as Poland have opposed such moves.

Country	Method	Year of last use (peacetime)	Abolished (peacetime)	Year of last use (wartime)	Abolished (wartime)
Albania Capital punishment in Albania The last execution of a civilian carried out in Albania was a hanging on 29 June 1995. While capital punishment was abolished for murder on 1 October 2000, it was still retained for treason and military offences. The reason for the abolition of the death penalty in Albania as well as in other...	Hanging Hanging Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...	1995	2000	?	2007
Andorra Capital punishment in Andorra Antoni Areny was the last man to be executed in Andorra. He was shot by a firing squad for the murder of his two brothers on 18 October 1943. Capital punishment was abolished in Andorra in 1990 and Protocol No. 6 to the ECHR came into force on 1 February 1996....	Firing squad Execution by firing squad Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading , is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war.Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice...	1943	1990	?	1996?
Armenia Capital punishment in Armenia The last execution in Armenia took place on the 30 August 1991; it was carried out by a single bullet. Death penalty remained a legal punishment for murder, treason, and serious crimes of a military nature, until its abolition in 2003....	Single shot Execution by shooting Execution by shooting is a form of capital punishment whereby an executed person is shot by one or more firearms. It is the most common method of execution worldwide, used in about 70 countries, with execution by firing squad being one particular form...	1991	2003	?	-
Austria Capital punishment in Austria The method of execution in Austria was hanging until the annexation by the Third Reich when it was replaced by guillotine. After World War II hanging was re-introduced by the British. The last person to be executed in Austria was Johann Trnka. He was hanged on march 24th, 1950 for the crime of...	Hanging	1950	1950	?	1968?
Azerbaijan Capital punishment in Azerbaijan The last execution took place in Azerbaijan in 1993 by method of single shot. Capital punishment was abolished in 1998. Protocol No. 6 to the ECHR came into force in this country on the 25th of January 2001.-References:*...	Single shot	1993	1998	?	-
Belarus Capital punishment in Belarus The provision for Capital Punishment in Belarus has been a part of the country since gaining independence from the Soviet Union. The current national constitution prescribes this punishment for "grave crimes." Later laws have clarified the specific crimes for which capital punishment can be used...	Single shot	2010	-	2010	-
Belgium Capital punishment in Belgium Capital punishment in Belgium was formally abolished on August 1, 1996 for all crimes, in both peacetime and wartime. The last execution for crimes committed in peacetime took place in July 1863, when in Ypres a farmer was executed for murder...	Guillotine Guillotine The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...	1863	1996	1950	1996
Bosnia and Herzegovina Capital punishment in Bosnia and Herzegovina Capital punishment in Bosnia and Herzegovina was abolished for all crimes in November 1998 in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and on 2000-06-21 in the Republika Srpska.-References:*...	?	1975	2000	?	2000?
Bulgaria Capital punishment in Bulgaria Capital punishment in Bulgaria was abolished on December 12, 1998 with the last execution having been carried out by firing squad on November 4, 1989. The Parliament of Bulgaria had introduced a moratorium on July 7, 1990 and protocol number six of the European Convention on Human Rights came into...	Firing squad	1989	1998	?	1998?
Croatia Capital punishment in Croatia Capital punishment in Croatia was abolished in 1990, when it was explicitly outlawed by article 21 of the new Constitution.Hanging was replaced by firing squads in 1959 in Yugoslavia with the last execution in 1987. Protocol number six of the European Convention on Human Rights came into force on...	Firing squad	1973	1990	?	1997?
Cyprus Capital punishment in Cyprus Capital punishment for murder was abolished in Cyprus on 15 December 1983. It was abolished for all crimes on 19 April 2002. Cyprus is a signatory of the second optional protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which provides for full abolition of capital punishment...	Hanging	1962	2002	?	2002?
Czech Republic Capital punishment in the Czech Republic Capital punishment was legal and used in Czechoslovakia until abolition in 1990. The last exeution was carried out in 1989...	Hanging	1989	1990	?	1990?
Denmark Capital punishment in Denmark Capital punishment in Denmark has been entirely abolished in peace-time since 1930 and for war crimes since 1978 . The last peace-time execution was carried out in 1892, but followed by executions during the World War II purges in 1945-50. Reinstitution of capital punishment is not supported by...	Firing squad	1892	1930	1950	1994
Estonia Capital punishment in Estonia In Estonia the last execution took place on the 11th of September 1991 when Rein Oruste was shot with a bullet to the back of the head for the crime of murder. The death penalty was completely abolished in Estonia on the 18th of March 1998 when Protocol No...	Single shot	1991	1998	?	1998?
Finland Capital punishment in Finland Capital punishment in Finland has been abolished de jure.As of 1823 in the Grand Duchy of Finland, death sentences were commuted to transportation to Siberia or life sentences. The last person to be executed in peacetime was Tahvo Putkonen, on July 8, 1825...	Beheading Decapitation Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...	1825	1949	1944	1972
France Capital punishment in France Capital punishment was practiced in France from the Middle Ages until 1977, when the last execution took place by guillotine, being the only legal method since the French Revolution. The last person to be executed in France was Hamida Djandoubi, who was put to death in September 1977. The death...	Guillotine	1977	1981	?	2002
Georgia Capital punishment in Georgia (country) The death penalty in Georgia was completely abolished on the May 1, 2000 when Protocol No. 6 to the ECHR was signed. Later Georgia also adopted the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR....	Single shot	1995	2000	?	2000
Nazi Germany Germany Capital punishment in Germany Capital punishment was abolished in West Germany in 1949 and East Germany in 1987.-Legal position:The current Constitution of Germany , which came into effect on 23rd May, 1949, forbids capital punishment...	Guillotine, Hanging, Firing Squad	1949	1949	1945	1949
East Germany Capital punishment in Germany Capital punishment was abolished in West Germany in 1949 and East Germany in 1987.-Legal position:The current Constitution of Germany , which came into effect on 23rd May, 1949, forbids capital punishment...	Guillotine, Single shot	1981	1987	1945	1987
Greece Capital punishment in Greece In Greece the last execution took place on the 25th of August 1972. The 27 year old Vassilis Lymberis was shot by firing squad for the murder of his wife, mother-in-law and two children on the island of Crete....	Firing Squad	1972	1975	?	2004
Hungary Capital punishment in Hungary In Hungary the last man was hanged for the crime of murder on the 31st of May 1988. Capital punishment was completely abolished on the 31st of October 1990 by the Constitutional Court . A month later on the 1st of December 1990 protocol No. 6 to the ECHR came into force. Hungary later adopted the...	Hanging	1988	1990	?	?
Iceland Capital punishment in Iceland The medieval Icelandic Commonwealth , having no central executive powers, did not apply capital punishment. It was, however, possible for the Althing to declare a man réttdræpur...	?	1830	1928	?	1995?
Ireland Capital punishment in Ireland Capital punishment has been abolished in the Republic of Ireland. The last execution was in 1954. From then until 1990 while capital punishment remained on the statute book, a practice arose whereby every sentence of death was commuted by the Irish president...	Hanging	1954	1990	1922	2002
Italy Capital punishment in Italy The use of capital punishment in Italy has been banned since 1889, with the exception of the period 1926-1947. When Italy was unified in 1860, capital punishment had been allowed in almost all pre-unitarian states, except for Tuscany...	Firing Squad	1947	1948	?	1994
Latvia Capital punishment in Latvia Latvia was the last country of the European Union to retain capital punishment for murder, however only during wartime.Latvia regained independence in 1991 after fall of the Soviet Union. Subsequently the death penalty in civilian cases was reserved for murder and the only method of executions, as...	Shooting	1996	1999	?	2011
Liechtenstein Capital punishment in Liechtenstein Capital punishment has been completely abolished in Liechtenstein. The last execution occurred in the year 1785. For treason, the death penalty was abolished in 1989, while the penalty was abolished in 1987 for murder.-References:...	?	1785	1989	?	?
Lithuania	Shooting	1995	1996	?	?
Malta Capital punishment in Malta Capital punishment for murder was abolished in Malta in 1971. It continued to be part of the country's military code until it was fully abolished on 21 March 2000. Malta is a signatory of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that commits it to...	Hanging	?	1971	1943	2000
Netherlands Capital punishment in the Netherlands Capital punishment in the Netherlands was first abolished in 1870, though only in criminal law, by the Dutch justice minister Van Lilaar. Following the abolition of the death penalty, life imprisonment was made an official punishment in 1878...	Hanging	1860	1878	1952	1983
Norway Capital punishment in Norway Capital punishment in Norway was abolished in peacetime with the criminal law that was passed in 1902 with enforcement beginning in 1905. Capital punishment was also abolished in times of war in 1979....		1876	1902	1948	1979
Poland Capital punishment in Poland Capital punishment remained in Polish law until April 1, 1998, but from 1989 there was a moratorium on executions, with the last execution taking place one year earlier...	Hanging	1988	1998	?	-
Portugal Capital punishment in Portugal Capital punishment has been utterly abolished in Portugal, as in every other member state of the European Union.The method of capital punishment used in Portugal was by hanging....	Hanging, Garrotte, Firing squad	1846	1867	1918?	1976
Romania Capital punishment in Romania Capital punishment in Romania was abolished in 1989, and has been prohibited by the Constitution of Romania since 1991.-Antecedents:The death penalty has a long and varied history in present-day Romania. Vlad III the Impaler was notorious for executing thousands by impalement...	Firing Squad	1989	1990	?	1991
Russia Capital punishment in Russia Capital punishment in Russia is currently under question, albeit legally allowed . There exists both an implicit moratorium established by the President and an explicit one, established by the nation's highest court. Russia has not executed anyone since 1996, and the regulations of the Council of...	Shooting	1996	2009	never used	2009
San Marino Capital punishment in San Marino Capital punishment is no longer applied in San Marino. The last execution was carried out in 1468, by hanging. San Marino is one of only two countries in the world to have carried out no executions since before 1800 - the other being Liechtenstein, where the last execution took place in 1785.San...	?	1468	1876	?	?
Serbia Capital punishment in Serbia Serbia and Montenegro abolished death penalty for all crimes, in February 2002....	?	1992	2001	?	2001
Slovenia Capital punishment in Slovenia In Slovenia the last execution was a hanging which took place in 1957. The death penalty was abolished in 1989 when Slovenia was still a federal republic of the former Yugoslavia. When Slovenia introduced its democratic constitution on the 23 December 1991 capital punishment became...	Hanging	1957	1989	?	1991
Spain	Garrote, Firing squad	1975	1978	?	2009
Sweden Capital punishment in Sweden Capital punishment in Sweden was practiced up until 1910. It is now outlawed by the Swedish Constitution which clearly states that capital punishment, corporal punishment, and torture is strictly prohibited.- Dates for abolishment of the death penalty :...	Guillotine	1910	1921	?	1973
Switzerland Capital punishment in Switzerland Capital punishment is forbidden in Switzerland by article 10, paragraph 1 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. It was abolished from federal criminal law in 1942, but remained available in military criminal law until 1992.-Use until 1937:...	Beheading	1940	1942	1945?	1992
Turkey Capital punishment in Turkey As of 2004, Turkey does not have capital punishment. Since October 1984, Turkey has not executed any prisoners. Prior to that date executions would usually happen after military interventions. Adnan Menderes, who served as Prime Minister was hanged on 17 September 1961 following the 1960 coup...	Hanging	1984	2002	?	2004
United Kingdom Capital punishment in the United Kingdom Capital punishment in the United Kingdom was used from the creation of the state in 1707 until the practice was abolished in the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom, by hanging, took place in 1964, prior to capital punishment being abolished for murder...	Hanging	1964	1965	?	1998
Vatican City Capital punishment in Vatican City Capital punishment in Vatican City was legal between 1929 and 1969, reserved for attempted assassination of the Pope, although the Vatican City has never carried out an execution...	?	?	1969	1870	?

Retentionist states

Belarus is the only European state to still execute its criminals. A Belarus court on November 30 convicted and sentenced to death two men for a bomb attack in the Minsk subway in April 2011 that killed 15 people and wounded around 200 others.

Russia has signed but not ratified Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights

European Convention on Human Rights

(abolition in peacetime). The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation effectively abolished capital punishment on November 19, 2009.

In addition, the two unrecognized states of Transnistria

Transnistria

Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...

and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Northern Cyprus or North Cyprus , officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus...

have not abolished the death penalty and are blocked from the Council of Europe. However, neither has executed anyone to date.

Capital punishment in Russia
Capital punishment in Russia
Capital punishment in Russia is currently under question, albeit legally allowed . There exists both an implicit moratorium established by the President and an explicit one, established by the nation's highest court. Russia has not executed anyone since 1996, and the regulations of the Council of...
Capital punishment in Belarus
Capital punishment in Belarus
The provision for Capital Punishment in Belarus has been a part of the country since gaining independence from the Soviet Union. The current national constitution prescribes this punishment for "grave crimes." Later laws have clarified the specific crimes for which capital punishment can be used...

External links

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Abolition

Retentionist states

See also

External links