According to French law, detention facilities must satisfy hygiene requirements and, as such, must provide sufficient airflow and air cubage. You must have sufficient access to fresh air in your cell. This means that you should be able to open a window, or there should be a ventilation system that delivers fresh air to your cell. This is especially important in hot summers or if there is a toilet in your cell.
To provide fresh air to your cell:
- there should be no metal shutters, slats, or plates placed on the cell windows in a manner that prevents fresh air from entering the cell, unless there are exceptional reasons that require them
- the size of the window should be proportional to the size and the number of prisoners living in the cell
Smoking
The Penitentiary Code allows inmates to smoke in their cells, as well as in walking courses. It is forbidden to smoke elsewhere. If you are a non-smoker, you must not be placed in a cell with a smoker without your consent. A circular underlines the importance to separate non-smokers from smokers, so that non-smokers are not subject to passive smoking. However, this circular is not binding, and this is rarely applied in practice.
The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Moldova in 2005 for failing to transfer an ill prisoner from a smoker cell to a non-smoker one.
What human rights violation may there be?
Prohibition against inhuman or degrading treatment
Inadequate ventilation, together with other negative conditions, may lead to a violation of your right not to be treated in an inhumane or degrading way. However, the effect that such conditions leave on your physical or mental condition must reach a certain minimum level of severity. Minor deviations from the norm will most probably not amount to a violation.
example If you are held for several months in a small, windowless cell with a toilet in it and no ventilation, it will most probably violate your rights. However, if the ventilation had broken down for two weeks, it will probably not violate your rights.
Read more about how to evaluate whether your rights have been violated.
How to complain
If you believe that your rights have been violated, you should complain to the prison administration. Read more about how to complain.