Facts
The complainant [X.] is in the execution of sentence in the Pöschwies institution. On June 30, 2010, he filed a request to acquire five books on German grammar, argumentation techniques, administrative law, and the practice of DEBA. The institution's management approved the purchase of a maximum of CHF 290.-- from the free account, the rest from pocket money. The complainant appealed against this decision and requested that the books be paid for with the credit on the blocked account. The Justice Department rejected the appeal, and the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich dismissed the complaint filed against it.
The complainant appeals to the Federal Court and requests that the judgment of the Administrative Court be set aside and that payment of the books from the blocked account be approved.
Considerations
The Federal Court decides that an oral hearing is not necessary, as there are no factual or legal issues that cannot be assessed on the basis of the files and the contested decision.
The court finds that the lower court correctly assessed the question of whether the purchase of the books can be financed from the blocked account. The guidelines of the Eastern Swiss Prison Commission on remuneration in prisons provide that the remuneration is divided proportionally between a blocked and a free account, and that a reserve is formed on the blocked account for the time after release.
The court decides that independent study of books does not constitute education and training within the meaning of Art. 4.2…