Corrections
Why is the number announced in court not the number of years in custody?
Because they are answers to different questions. The announced term is what the court imposed; time in custody is what execution produces after suspension, release provisions and rules about combining terms have operated on it.
In short
Two different quantities get called "the sentence". One is what the court imposed — the term fixed at sentencing, which is a judicial decision about the offence and the offender. The other is the period actually spent in custody, which is what remains after the provisions governing execution have operated. They are related but not the same, and in most systems they are not designed to be.
Why it exists
AnalysisThe gap is not a defect that systems have failed to close. It follows from the decision to separate sentencing from execution. Once a system decides that a court fixes a term and a different process carries it out, the second process needs rules — and any rule about suspension, combination or release will produce a custodial period different from the term on its face.
How it works
Three categories of provision separate the two quantities, and each is a deliberate feature of the system that has it.
First, suspension. A fixed term may never be executed at all. German law directs that on a custodial sentence of not more than one year the court suspends execution where the statutory expectation is made out, and permits suspension of a term not exceeding two years where special circumstances are present. In both cases the term stands and the custody does not occur unless something further happens.
Second, release provisions. Where a term is executed, statutes commonly permit the remainder to be suspended once a stated fraction has been served — under German law two-thirds, and one-half in the narrower first-sentence case, each subject to further conditions including public security and the convicted person’s consent.
Third, rules about combining terms. Where a person is sentenced for more than one offence, the individual terms do not necessarily aggregate arithmetically. Canadian statute states the principle directly: where consecutive sentences are imposed, the combined sentence should not be unduly long or harsh. So the total is subject to a judgment about the total, not just to addition.
AnalysisEach of these operates at a different stage: suspension at sentencing, release provisions during execution, combination rules when the terms are set. A system may have all three, some, or others this page does not describe.
Common misconceptions
Widely held beliefs that do not match how the system actually operates.
Common belief: A shorter time in custody than the announced term means the sentence was not enforced.
In practice: It usually means statutory provisions operated on it. Suspension, release of a remainder and rules about combining terms are enacted law, applied by courts, not departures from the sentence.
Common belief: The court that imposed the term decides how much of it is served.
In practice: Not necessarily the same court and not necessarily at the same time. Under the German provisions the suspension of a remainder is a separate judicial decision taken later, on criteria the sentencing court did not apply.
Common belief: Consecutive sentences simply add up.
In practice: Canadian statute provides that where consecutive sentences are imposed the combined sentence should not be unduly long or harsh, which makes the total subject to its own assessment rather than to arithmetic alone.
Common belief: You can estimate time in custody from the announced term.
In practice: Not from anything on this page. Which provisions apply depends on the jurisdiction, the offence, the framework and facts that are not general. This page explains why the numbers differ, and deliberately provides no method for relating them.
How this varies between jurisdictions
A required section on every guide. Arrangements differ between countries, and we say how.
The categories, and where two systems place them.
- Suspension before any custody — Germany, StGB § 56.
- Suspension of the remainder during execution — Germany, StGB § 57.
- A constraint on the combined length of consecutive terms — Canada, Criminal Code s. 718.2(c).
Rights and accountability
AnalysisThe gap between the two numbers is a legal-certainty question as much as a corrections one. A person sentenced is entitled to know what the term means, which requires the execution provisions to be stated in law rather than left to administrative practice.
AnalysisPublic understanding matters for a second reason. A system whose announced terms are widely believed to be fictional loses something in the announcement itself, and the fix is explaining the provisions rather than adjusting the terms to match expectations they were never measuring.
What we could not establish
- This page describes categories of provision that separate an imposed term from time in custody, using two systems as worked examples. It is not a method for calculating anything, and it deliberately does not attempt one.
- Which of these provisions exist, and how they interact, differs in every jurisdiction. Nothing here transfers.
Where to go next
Related: release before the end of a sentence, conviction, sentence and execution, and legal certainty.
Related topics
- Why are people released before their sentence has run its full term?
Because the statute says so, on stated criteria, decided by a court. German law sets fractions, requires that release be justifiable against the security interest of the public — and requires the convicted person’s consent.
- Is being sentenced one decision, or several?
Three, and in some systems three different decision-makers. Brazil gives execution its own judge — the Juízo da Execução — which makes visible a stage most descriptions of criminal justice leave out entirely.
- If a sentence is suspended, has the person been sentenced at all?
Yes. The court fixes a custodial term and then suspends its execution on conditions. German law sets out both halves in a single provision, and the order of the two steps is the thing most descriptions get backwards.
Sources
Department of Justice Canada (laws-lois.justice.gc.ca) · Legislation · link verified 2026-08-26
The consolidated federal text on the Justice Laws Website, read directly (English; the French text is equally authoritative). Supports s. 718: "The fundamental purpose of sentencing is to protect society and to contribute, along with crime prevention initiatives, to respect for the law and the maintenance of a just, peaceful and safe society by imposing just sanctions that have one or more of the following objectives" — denouncing unlawful conduct and the harm done to victims or the community (a); deterring the offender and other persons (b); separating offenders from society, where necessary (c); assisting in rehabilitating offenders (d); providing reparations for harm done to victims or to the community (e); and promoting a sense of responsibility in offenders, and acknowledgment of the harm done (f). Supports s. 718.1, marginal-noted "Fundamental principle": "A sentence must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender." Supports s. 718.2 principles, including that a sentence should be increased or reduced for aggravating or mitigating circumstances with an enumerated list of deemed aggravating circumstances (a); that "a sentence should be similar to sentences imposed on similar offenders for similar offences committed in similar circumstances" (b); that where consecutive sentences are imposed "the combined sentence should not be unduly long or harsh" (c); that "an offender should not be deprived of liberty, if less restrictive sanctions may be appropriate in the circumstances" (d); and that "all available sanctions, other than imprisonment, that are reasonable in the circumstances and consistent with the harm done to victims or to the community should be considered for all offenders, with particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders" (e). Criminal law is federal in Canada and this text applies across the country. It establishes no sentence length for any offence, supports no prediction of any outcome, and describes no other system.
Strafgesetzbuch (StGB) § 56 — Strafaussetzung (German original text)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / Bundesamt für Justiz (Gesetze im Internet) · Legislation · link verified 2026-08-26
The authoritative German text, read directly. Supports § 56(1): on a conviction to a custodial sentence of not more than one year the court suspends execution of the sentence on probation ("setzt … die Vollstreckung der Strafe zur Bewährung aus") where it is to be expected that the convicted person will let the conviction itself serve as a warning and will commit no further offences even without the influence of imprisonment, having regard in particular to the personality of the convicted person, their prior life, the circumstances of the act, conduct after the act, their circumstances of life, and the effects to be expected from suspension. And § 56(2): the court may suspend a higher custodial sentence not exceeding two years where, on an overall appraisal of the act and the personality of the convicted person, special circumstances are present, with the convicted person's efforts to make good the damage caused expressly among the considerations. Cited for the existence and structure of suspended sentences in German law. It establishes no practice, no frequency, and nothing about any other system.
Bundesministerium der Justiz / Bundesamt für Justiz (Gesetze im Internet) · Legislation · link verified 2026-08-26
The authoritative German text, read directly. Supports § 57(1): the court suspends execution of the remainder of a fixed-term custodial sentence on probation where (1) two-thirds of the sentence imposed, but at least two months, have been served; (2) this can be justified taking account of the security interest of the general public ("unter Berücksichtigung des Sicherheitsinteresses der Allgemeinheit verantwortet werden kann"); and (3) the convicted person consents — with the decision taking into account in particular their personality, prior life, the circumstances of the act, the weight of the legal interest endangered in the event of relapse, their conduct during execution, their circumstances of life, and the effects to be expected from suspension. And § 57(2): after half of a fixed-term sentence, but at least six months, where the convicted person is serving a custodial sentence for the first time and it does not exceed two years, among the stated conditions. Cited for the fact that release before the end of a custodial sentence is a judicial decision on stated statutory criteria, including the convicted person's consent. It supports no claim about release rates, about outcomes after release, or about any other system.