Outdoor time
Outdoor time
Outdoor time is the daily time spent in the open air during detention. You retain this right even in a punishment cell or during segregation. The institution must give you a real opportunity to go outside; this may only be restricted in very exceptional circumstances.
The right to daily outdoor time
Prisoners, other detainees, young people and patients have the right to spend time outdoors every day. The director must ensure that this lasts at least one hour, unless health reasons prevent it. This is a duty of care: the director must make outdoor time possible.
The Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (Raad voor Strafrechtstoepassing en Jeugdbescherming, RSJ), which handles appeals concerning detention among other matters, regards outdoor time as a fundamental right that, in principle, cannot be taken away. Organisational inconvenience is therefore not enough to cancel it.
Spending outdoor time together is the starting point. This usually takes place in an exercise yard or outdoor area. Separate outdoor time in an exercise cage may be allowed in certain circumstances, but the space must be suitable for genuinely spending time in the open air.
Prisons and other detainees
For prisoners and other detainees, the right to outdoor time is set out in Article 49, paragraphs 1 and 3, of the Custodial Institutions Act (Penitentiaire beginselenwet, Pbw).
The institution must take the initiative
You do not have to ask for outdoor time first. In principle, the director must approach you and offer you the opportunity. This follows from the obligation in Article 49, paragraph 3, of the Custodial Institutions Act (Penitentiaire beginselenwet, Pbw) to give prisoners that opportunity (RSJ, 16 January 2020, R-19/4499/GA).
If you refuse outdoor time, the institution must make a written note of this. If uncertainty later arises because this was not properly recorded, that uncertainty must be interpreted in your favour.
Punishment cells, segregation and long-term use of an exercise cage
A disciplinary punishment, intended to punish, or an order measure, intended to protect order or safety, does not remove the right to outdoor time. A suitable exercise cage may be used during a stay in a punishment or isolation cell.
However, long-term use can be problematic. In one case, supervision measures and the building's layout meant that a prisoner had to take outdoor time in an exercise cage for seven months. The RSJ found that this was at odds with:
- Article 2, paragraph 4, of the Custodial Institutions Act (Penitentiaire beginselenwet, Pbw): the principle that restrictions must be kept to a minimum;
- Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR): the prohibition of inhuman treatment.
The director had to look for alternatives (RSJ, 7 December 2015, 15/2880/GA).
Absence to attend court
A prisoner who had to attend court during outdoor time was unsuccessful in his complaint about missing it. In that case, the director could not be held responsible for the missed outdoor session. The circumstances of the absence and the options available to the director therefore matter.
Youth detention institutions
For young people, the right to outdoor time is set out in Article 53, paragraph 3, of the Youth Custodial Institutions Act (Beginselenwet justitiële jeugdinrichtingen, Bjj). Here too, spending time outdoors together is the starting point.
A staff shortage may occasionally justify using an exercise cage if safety cannot be guaranteed in the regular exercise yard. The exercise cage must meet the applicable requirements. A shortage therefore does not automatically justify cancelling outdoor time altogether.
Behaviour during outdoor time may affect the time remaining. A young person misbehaved during outdoor time and was placed under an order measure. The RSJ ruled that the director did not have to make up the remaining part of that outdoor session (RSJ, 5 August 2003, 03/0859/JA).
TBS orders and treatment
For patients covered by the Act on the Treatment of Persons Subject to a TBS Order (Beginselenwet verpleging ter beschikking gestelden, Bvt), the right to outdoor time is set out in Article 43, paragraph 3, of that Act (Bvt).
Working outdoors and talking to other patients
Time outdoors does not have to be purely recreational. The RSJ found that a patient who worked on a farm and therefore spent at least one hour outside every day had sufficient opportunity to spend time in the open air.
The right to outdoor time also includes the opportunity to talk to other patients. A ban on talking during outdoor time was rejected because there was no need for that restriction in the case concerned (RSJ, 7 February 2018, 17/3117/TA).
Serious threats and technical failures
Seriously threatening behaviour may justify a restriction. This happened in the case of a patient who had been making threats and behaving aggressively since the morning. Repeated attempts to re-establish contact failed. Even with several staff members and handcuffs, outdoor time could not take place safely.
A pager system failure was also considered exceptional in a TBS case. Two-way radios could not replace the malfunctioning pagers, leaving staff without sufficient means of communication to supervise outdoor time.
A hearing before the RSJ
For a patient who had been unable to take outdoor time because of an RSJ hearing, the director's duty of care remained in place. It was necessary to assess what efforts were still possible, such as an extra outdoor session the following day. Absence to attend a hearing therefore does not automatically mean that the institution no longer has to do anything.
What requirements must the outdoor area meet?
The outdoor area must provide some shelter from the weather so that the right to outdoor time can actually be exercised. A temporarily installed weather-resistant parasol may be sufficient. The RSJ ruled that such a provision did not make effective outdoor time impossible.
Requirements for an exercise cage
Dutch law does not specify minimum dimensions for an exercise cage. Rule 27.1 of the European Prison Rules (EPR) does provide guidance on exercise in the open air. These rules are guidelines, but the RSJ takes them into account in its assessment.
Simply being able to look outside is not enough. It must also be possible to feel and genuinely experience the weather. The RSJ has stated that the weather conditions must be visible and capable of being felt and experienced, and that the area must measure at least 10 square metres.
The layout of the space makes a considerable difference:
- An open-topped exercise cage can, in principle, meet the requirements.
- A space of approximately 40 square metres with a grid covering the entire top was accepted because a view of, and contact with, the open air remained possible.
- A cage of approximately 10 square metres with a solid ceiling and two barred openings measuring 80 by 135 centimetres did not meet the requirements. Outdoor air and daylight entered only through those openings, and electric lighting was on continuously.
- A balcony 0.8 metres deep and 2.5 metres wide, with a solid roof, solid side walls and fencing, also failed to meet the requirements. It had not been sufficiently established that the patient could genuinely feel the weather or move around enough.
An exercise cage found unsuitable
After finding an exercise cage unsuitable, the appeals committee (beroepscommissie) cannot impose a general ban on its future use. However, continued use under unchanged conditions remains unlawful: time spent there does not count as outdoor time.
Financial compensation must be awarded if such a cage is used. Payment does not, however, make the space suitable or its use lawful.
When may outdoor time be restricted?
Only very exceptional circumstances can justify a restriction. Even in the event of serious incidents, the director must make extra efforts to provide a suitable solution. This could involve extra staff, security or mechanical aids.
Exceptional emergencies
The RSJ accepted restrictions following, among other events, the tram attack at 24Oktoberplein in Utrecht. The effects extended throughout the institution, and almost half of the prisoners were unable to take outdoor time. Requiring another outdoor session was considered unreasonable in those circumstances.
A riot in the exercise yard involving approximately 60 prisoners, followed by a lockdown, was also considered an exceptional situation justifying a departure from the rules.
Problems that are not enough to justify restrictions
By contrast, a faulty alarm system was not considered sufficiently exceptional. The director had to make extra efforts to provide appropriate compensation. This obligation to make efforts also remains in place during a routine alarm situation.
A large-scale search on another wing that caused outdoor time to be cancelled also amounted to a violation. No compensation was awarded in that case because the outdoor session could not reasonably have gone ahead and the prisoner had received extra outdoor time the following day (RSJ, 30 August 2024, 22/29850/GA).
Visits and outdoor time must not be combined into a single session intended to replace both rights. According to the RSJ, this violated both rights: separate statutory rights must not be merged.
Outdoor time during coronavirus measures
During the coronavirus period, the RSJ accepted some restrictions, but only after considering the specific circumstances.
On 25 July 2022, a restriction to 30 minutes during quarantine in a cell was accepted. Potentially infected prisoners had to take outdoor time separately, while others went out in small groups. The 1.5-metre distancing rule meant that few outdoor areas were available. The director also offered extra opportunities for personal care, snacks and films.
A restriction during four days of quarantine following an infection among staff on the unit was also accepted as exceptional.
By contrast, another prisoner spent 14 days in segregation because of the risk of infection, without any outdoor time. The RSJ ruled that the director had made no efforts to offer appropriate compensation. A health measure therefore does not automatically remove that obligation.
Complaints and compensation for missed outdoor time
You can file a complaint (beklag) with the supervisory committee (commissie van toezicht) about a violation of the right to outdoor time or the director's duty of care. This may concern cancelled outdoor time, but also an unsuitable exercise cage or insufficient efforts to make up a missed session.
What is appropriate compensation?
Making up the loss through actual extra outdoor time is preferred. In principle, this means an hour outdoors or another appropriate form of compensation that does not replace an existing right.
Examples of inappropriate compensation include:
- extra outdoor time for which you have to give up a recreation session;
- offering a recreation session that you would have attended anyway.
If compensation in kind, such as extra outdoor time, is not possible, financial compensation may be awarded. Since 1 October 2025, the RSJ's standard amount for one missed outdoor session has been €12.50. A different amount may be awarded if the circumstances justify it.
What does this mean for you?
You do not have to earn outdoor time or ask for it first. The institution must offer it, including during punishment or segregation. If a session is cancelled, ask why and what opportunity is being offered to make up for it.
If you may want to file a complaint (beklag), it helps to describe clearly:
- when you were unable to go outdoors or received too little outdoor time;
- what reason staff gave for this;
- whether you refused outdoor time or whether a refusal was wrongly recorded;
- what compensation was offered and whether it came at the expense of other activities you were entitled to;
- what the outdoor space looks like and whether you can genuinely feel the weather and move around there.
For an exercise cage, its name or floor area alone is not decisive. The roof, openings and actual contact with the open air also matter. Financial compensation does not remedy an ongoing unsuitable situation.
Please note
This page draws on the expertise of Mr. S.P.C. (Stan) Broekmans, a specialist in detention law at Hameleers Antonides Advocaten. Do you have a question about your own situation? Please get in touch; an initial assessment is free.
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