Professor Stephen Shute has been appointed 11th President of the International Penal and Penitentiary Foundation (IPPF)/Foundation International Pénale et Pénitentiaire (FIPP). He will hold this position for at least five years.

Registered in Switzerland, the IPPF/FIPP is governed by sections of the Swiss Civil Code and by its own statutes. It’s the oldest agency operating in the field - founded in 1951, its roots date back to the creation of the International Penitentiary Commission (IPC) in 1872.

Across its nearly 75-year history, the IPPF/FIPP has made a remarkable contribution to penal and penitentiary reform. The Foundation’s vision is to create a safer and more just world through the development of penal and penitentiary standards, policies, and practices which are rooted in effectiveness and evidence and which pay proper respect to equality, social inclusion, fundamental rights, and fair procedure.

Its mission is to deliver improvement through research, debate, the dissemination of scholarship and expertise, and a dialogue between scholars and practitioners.

The IPPF/FIPP has had 10 previous Presidents: three from Belgium, two from the United States of America, one from France, one from Norway, one from Portugal, one from Hungary, and one from Ireland. Professor Shute is the first President of the IPPF/FIPP to come from the United Kingdom. He is also the first person from the United Kingdom to have served on the IPPF/FIPP’s five-member Council.

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