When the release phase begins: remaining sentence, preparation and the two-year limit

Section 145(1) StVG does not set one fixed date for the beginning of the release phase. Depending on the length of the custodial sentence to be served, the phase begins three to 24 months before the expected release. The time window is therefore connected to the actual sentence. The provision does not contain a universal table from which the beginning can be calculated for every prisoner without further documents.

The data must be correct before the calculation can be made: Which sentence is being served? Which periods are credited? What release date follows from the calculation? Only on that basis can the time window under section 145(1) StVG be applied meaningfully. A date mentioned in everyday communication may differ from a court or prison administration calculation.

The beginning of the release phase is different from the actual release. It opens a specific preparation period within the continuing sentence. The sentence therefore continues while the steps towards freedom are organised. The fact that the phase has begun does not automatically mean that release is imminent.

As a rule, section 145 StVG refers to the expected release. That is the date from which the three to 24 month preparation period is calculated. If several dates are possible, the regular sentence end, credited detention and any other calculation bases must be kept separate.

Section 145(2) StVG contains a specific rule: if the prison governor considers conditional release likely, the expected date of conditional release is decisive. The provision therefore relies on a concrete assessment by the prison administration. Conditional release is not the reference point merely because it has been applied for or might theoretically be available.

For a reliable assessment, the sentence calculation, written information in the enforcement plan and any documents concerning conditional release should be read together. The key question is which date the enforcement planning actually treats as expected. Without those documents, a calculation in months remains provisional.

Section 145(3) StVG addresses a specific situation: one or more relaxations were granted under section 144(2) StVG during the release phase and conditional release was then refused. In that situation, the relaxations may not be withdrawn merely because conditional release was refused. The refusal alone is not enough for the withdrawal.

The rule preserves the independent significance of a relaxation that has already been granted. It does not mean that every relaxation must remain unchanged in all circumstances. Other legally relevant reasons must be assessed separately. A new prison decision should therefore be checked carefully to identify the reason it actually gives and whether it simply repeats the refusal of conditional release.

The chronology and documents are important in practice: When did the release phase begin? When was the relaxation approved? When was conditional release refused? When and for what reason was the relaxation restricted or withdrawn? This chronology distinguishes an impermissible sole connection from an independently stated new reason.

For an initial assessment, a manageable set of documents is sufficient: the judgment, the sentence calculation, evidence of credited detention, the enforcement plan, the approval of a relaxation and the decision on conditional release. Add any letters in which the prison administration explains the beginning of the release phase or a later change.

Arrange the documents by date and mark each release date stated in them. This shows whether the prison administration is relying on the regular sentence end or an expected conditional release. If dates differ, the calculation should be explained in writing before legal conclusions are drawn from a single date.

This article concerns the statutory beginning of the preparation phase. General preparation of housing, documents and first steps after release is covered separately. An application for conditional release and an application for prison leave or work release also follow their own rules. These questions should therefore not be mixed into one undifferentiated application.