Who Complains in Prison, Who Doesn’t and Why? A View from Germany

German legal culture embraces a strong rights-based approach to prison law and policy. With strong support by the Constitutional Court in the 1970s, it is now undisputed that in principle a prisoner is a citizen behind bars and keeps all rights except his or her liberty: he/she must always be in a position to challenge any infringement of these rights. Consequently, there must be grievance procedures in place and prisoners must be able to apply to a person or institution who can remedy a problem. A formal complaints procedure in prison law enables all prisoners to turn to the prison director with “requests, suggestions and complaints”, to turn to the prison administration with any issue they may have and ultimately to seek a judicial remedy in a specially designed procedure before a specialised court for prison matters. On paper, the German situation thus looks good. Older research and jurisprudence, however, suggest that the practice is much bleaker. This chapter explores how and if prisoners in two German regions understand and use their legal options.