Ministero della giustizia

Penitentiary Act

Ministry of Justice of Italy
DEPARTMENT OF PENITENTIARY ADMINISTRATION

PENITENTIARY ACT

Updated: July 2015

FOREWORD

Six months ago, the first complete English version of the Italian Penitentiary Act was presented; we were then conscious that the work could be improved even though it had been carried out, with great care, by the translators of the Office for Studies, Research, Legislation and International Relations from the Department of Penitentiary Administration: Andrea Beccarini, Alessandra Bernardon, Vincenzo Flore, Giacomina Perna and Loreta Taraborelli.

It is well known that translations of normative works are characterized by a quite peculiar level of difficulty.The accuracy and the univocality required by the normative language, on one hand, and the frequent lack of correspondence between legal institutions of different countries, on the other hand, sometimes oblige the translator to create completely new expressions or periphrasis adapted to the lack of approved options to be chosen. Such an arduous work also involves the Penitentiary Act, which is part of a very specialized sector characterized by still considerable differences among the systems of different countries, even though a tendency to "consistency" with certain standard is being established within the European setting.
A translator of normative works is aware he/she is treading on a ground where a full accuracy cannot be achieved and he/she knows that the contribution of those who have a legal training in both languages of translation is essential besides being useful. This version could make use of such contribution thanks to the expertise of Ms Sally Cullen, liaison magistrate from the United Kingdom. We are very grateful to her for her valuable cooperation as well as her great helpfulness. With all the efforts and care we put on it, we are aware that the possibility of mistakes can never be avoided. In some cases it seemed preferable to keep the Italian terms for certain legal institutions, instead of doing a mere literal translation. And the invitation is still valid to those who would find some mistakes to please point them out to us.We hope that this edition, issued in a new graphic format and updated with new law amendments, will be easier to be used.

First of all for English-speaking prisoners. A better and easier understanding of rights and duties of sentenced and accused persons detained in prisons or under alternative measures in the community or under detention security measures, the possibility of relations with the representatives of the institution and with, the outside community are to favour the observance of the rules regulating prison life as well as to reduce the many difficulties which the prisoner faces as an alien national.
The effort to fill this gap is however a must for this Administration, also in the light of the international engagements of our Country.
Secondly, the English translation will contribute to more widely spread the knowledge of the Italian Penitentiary Act which, though it dates back to twenty-five years ago, is still - in its field and in many of its solutions - one of the most advanced in the world.

llth September 2002

Giovanni Tamburino

PENITENTIARY ACT
(Law no. 354 dated 26th July 1975 and following modifications)

ITEM I
PRISON TREATMENT

CHAPTER I
GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Treatment and re-education

1. Prison treatment shall be humane and shall assure respect for the dignity of each individual.

2. Treatment shall be marked by absolute impartiality, with no discrimination on the grounds of nationality, race, economic and social status, political opinion and religious beliefs.

3. Order and discipline shall be maintained within penal institutions. Restrictions may not be imposed which are not justifiable with the above-mentioned requirements, or, in relation to accused persons, are not essential for judicial aims.

4. Prisoners and internees shall be called, or indicated, by name.

5. Treatment of accused persons shall be based on the principle that they are not considered guilty until the final sentence has been pronounced.

6. Convicted offenders and internees shall undergo a rehabilitation treatment, aimed at their social re-inclusion, also by means of contacts with the outside community. Treatment shall be tailored to each individual with regard to the specific personal needs and circumstances.

2. Expenses incurred in relation to the execution of sentences and of detention security measures

1. The expenses incurred in relation to the execution of sentences and of detention security measures shall be born by the State.

2. Convicted offenders shall repay the expenses for their maintenance in terms of art. 145, 188, 189 and 191 of the Criminal Code and Art. 274 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

3. As far as internees are concerned, the expenses for their maintenance shall be repaid by means of taking a part of their remuneration according to the penultimate paragraph of Art. 213 of the Criminal Code, or as a consequence of the provision relevant to the repayment of expenses for hospitalisation, referred to in the last part of Art. 213 of the Criminal Code.

4. Maintenance expenses shall cover food, clothing and bedding.

5. The repayment of expenses for maintenance shall not exceed two-thirds of the real cost. The Minister of Justice, at the beginning of the financial year, after consulting the Minister of the Treasury, shall fix the average amount for the maintenance of prisoners in every penal institution in the Italian Republic.

3. Equal Conditions between prisoners and internees

1. Prisoners and internees shall be granted equal living conditions in penal institutions. In particular, Regulations shall provide for limitations on the amount of the available “peculio” and of commodities received from outside.

4. Exercise of prisoners’ and internees’ rights

1. Prisoners and internees shall personally exercise the rights available to them under this law even though they are in a status of legal interdiction.

4-b. Prohibition on granting benefits and assessing of the danger to society of offenders sentenced for particular crimes

1. Prisoners and internees may be granted work outside prison, bonus leaves, and measures alternative to detention provided by Chapter VI, except for early release, where they are detained for the following crimes only where such prisoners and internees turn state’s evidence in terms of art. 58-c of this Law: crimes perpetrated with aims of terrorism, even international, or of subversion of democratic order through acts of violence, crime under Art. 416-b of the Criminal Code, crimes perpetrated under the conditions provided by the same article or in order to facilitate the activities of the associations provided by it, crimes under articles 600, 600-b, paragraph 1, 600-c, paragraph 1 and 2, 601, 602, 609-h, where the condition provided for by art. 1-d of this article occurs, and 630 of the Criminal Code, by art. 291-d of the consolidated Act of the provisions concerning customs approved by presidential decree n. 43 of 23 January 1973, and by art. 74 of the consolidated act on Drugs and psychotropic substances, prevention, care and rehabilitation of the relevant addictions, under Presidential Decree n° 309 of 9 October 1990. Provisions shall be maintained of articles 16-i and 17-b of the Law by Decree of 15 January 1991, n. 8, brought into force with amendments by Law n° 82 of 15 March 1991.

1-b. The benefits under paragraph 1 can be granted to prisoners or internees for one of the crimes indicated in the same paragraph, provided that the evidence acquired has definitely excluded current links with organised crime, terrorism or subversion organisations, as well as when the final conviction verdict has ascertained their limited participation in the crime or when a final judgement has been issued ascertaining the events and the responsibilities, making impossible a fruitful cooperation with justice, as well as when, although their cooperation is objectively irrelevant, they have been granted one of the extenuating circumstances provided by Art. 62, number 6), also where the damages have been compensated after the final sentence, or by Art. 114 of the Criminal Code, or by the provision of Art. 116, para 2, of the same Code.

1-c. The benefits indicated in paragraph 1 may be granted only where there is no evidence of current links with organised crime, terrorism or subversion organisations to prisoners and internees charged of the crimes under the following articles: 575, 600-b, para 2 and 3, 600-c, para 3, 600-e, 628, para 3, 629, para 2 of the Criminal Code, 291-c of the already mentioned consolidated Act approved by presidential decree n. 43 of 23 January 1973, art. 73 of the already mentioned consolidated act approved by Presidential Decree n° 309 of 9 October 1990, and following modifications, limited to the extent of the aggravated hypothesis in terms of art. 80, para 2, of the above-mentioned consolidated act, article 416 of the criminal code, carried out in order to commit the crimes provided for by book II, Title XII, Chapter III, section 1 of the same code, by articles 609-b, 609-d, and 609-h of the Criminal Code and by article 12, paragraphs 3, 3-b and 3-c of the consolidated act of provisions concerning immigration and the regulations on the alien nationals’ conditions, under legislative decree n° 286 of 25 July 1998, and following modifications.

1-d. The benefits indicated in paragraph 1 can be granted to prisoners or internees for the crimes under articles 600-b, 600-c, 600-d, 600-e, 609-b, 609-c, 609-d, 609-e, 609-h and 609-k of the Criminal Code only on the grounds of the scientific observation of the prisoner’s personality, jointly carried out for at least one year also together with the experts indicated in paragraph 4 of article 80 of this Act. The provisions of the previous sentence apply to the crime under article 609-b of the criminal code except when the extenuating circumstance provided for by the same article is applied.

1-e. Without prejudice to the provisions under paragraph 1, to the purposes of granting benefits to prisoners and internees for the crimes under articles 600-b and 600-c, even if relating to the pornographic materials as per article 600-d.1, 600-e, 609-d, 609-e and 609-k of the Criminal Code, as well as per articles 609-b and 609-h of the same Code, if perpetrated against a minor, the supervisory judge or the supervisory court shall assess the offender’s positive participation in the specific rehabilitation programme, as per article 13-b of this Act.

2. With the object of granting the benefits referred to in para 1, the Supervisory Judge or the Supervisory Court shall decide after acquiring detailed information via the provincial committee for public order and security having jurisdiction with regard to the place where the convicted person is imprisoned. In any case the judge shall decide thirty days after the inquiry. The governor of the prison where the convicted offender is imprisoned may be summoned to participate in the above-mentioned provincial committee.

2-b. With the object of granting the benefits referred to in para 1-c the Supervisory Judge or the Supervisory Court shall decide after acquiring detailed information from the police commissioner. In any case the judge shall decide thirty days after the inquiry.

3. Where the Committee decides that particular security exigencies exist or that links may be kept with organisations operative in non-local or extra-national fields, it shall inform the judge of its finding and the term referred to in para 2 shall be extended for a further thirty days, in order to acquire facts and information from the competent central bodies.

3-b. Prisoners and internees, imprisoned for fraudulent crimes, may not be granted work outside prison, bonus leave and measures alternative to detention provided by chapter VI, where the national anti-Mafia prosecutor or the district prosecutor, on their initiative or after a warning from the provincial committee for public order and security having jurisdiction with regard to the place of detention or internment, informs of current links with the organised crime. In such a case, the procedures provided by para 2 and 3 shall be set aside.

CHAPTER II
GENERAL CONDITIONS

5. Characteristics of prison buildings

1. Penal institutions shall be built in such a way as to accommodate a reasonable number of prisoners and internees.
2. Prison buildings shall have premises where association activities can take place, and also premises meeting the requirements of an individual’s life.

6. Living and sleeping accommodation

1. Premises where prisoners and internees are required to live shall be of a reasonable size, with artificial and natural lighting allowing reading and work to take place; well-aired, heated where required because of climatic conditions, and shall be equipped with private, adequate and functional sanitation. Those premises shall be well maintained and clean.
2. The premises for sleeping accommodation shall consist of rooms for one or more persons.

3. Particular care must be taken in the choice of offenders allocated to rooms for more than one person.

4. Accused persons shall be granted sleeping accommodation in single rooms provided that the particular situation of the prison allows it.

5. Every prisoner and internee shall be provided with appropriate bedding.

7. Clothing and toiletries

1. Every offender shall be provided with enough bedding, clothing and toiletries, in a good state of repair and clean in order to meet the normal requirements of life.

2. Clothes shall be of a plain colour and of reasonable appearance. Work clothes shall be worn where it is necessary to do so for work reasons.

3. Accused persons and offenders sentenced to a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year shall be allowed to wear their own clothes on the condition that they are clean and suitable. Accused persons shall be provided with clothes different from the ones provided to convicted persons and internees.

4. Prisoners and internees may be allowed to use their own clothes and objects of particular moral or sentimental value.

8. Personal hygiene

1. Prisoners and internees shall be assured the use of adequate and sufficient washbasins and bathing or showering facilities, as well as other objects necessary for their care and cleanliness.

2. In each penal institution, facilities shall be provided for periodic haircutting and shaving. The use of a personal electric razor may be allowed.

3. Haircutting and shaving may be imposed only for particular sanitary reasons.

9. Food

1. Prisoners and internees shall be provided with healthy and sufficient food, taking into account their age, sex, health, work and season and climate.

2. Food shall be usually given in premises suited to that purpose.

3. Drinking water shall always be available to prisoners and internees.

4. The quantity and the quality of daily food shall be determined by relevant tables approved by a ministerial decree.

5. The penitentiary administration shall, as a rule, directly run the service providing meals.

6. Representatives of prisoners or internees, drawn once a month by lot, shall supervise the application of the said tables and the preparation of meals.

7. Prisoners and internees shall be allowed to buy, at their own expense, foodstuffs and refreshments within the limits fixed by the regulations. As a rule the sale of foodstuffs or refreshments shall be committed to prison shops run directly by the penitentiary administration or by firms selling goods whose prices are controlled by the municipal authorities. Prices may not exceed the prices usually charged in the place where the penal institution is located. The representatives referred to in the previous paragraph, in addition to a director’s delegate chosen out of the civil staff of the penal institution, shall control the quality and the prices of the goods which are sold inside the prison.

10. Amount of time to be spent outdoor

1. Offenders who do not work outside shall be allowed a daily exercise of at least two hours a day. Only for exceptional reasons such a period may be reduced to not less than one hour a day.

2. Outdoor activities shall be carried out in groups, unless the cases provided for in art. 33 and in numbers 4) and 5) of art. 39 occur, and it shall be devoted, if possible, to physical training.

11. Health service

1. Every penal institution shall be provided with a medical service and a pharmaceutical service which conform with the preventive and health care requirements relevant to prisoners and internees; at least one specialist in psychiatry shall also be present in prisons.

2. Where treatment or diagnostic tests are necessary, which may not be carried out by prison health services, sentenced prisoners and internees shall be transferred, by order of the supervisory judge, to civil hospitals or other external health care centres. As far as accused persons are concerned, the above mentioned transfers shall be ordered by the Supervisory Judge, after the 1st degree sentence has been pronounced; by the investigating magistrate before the 1st degree sentence has been pronounced, during the formal preliminary investigation; by the public prosecutor, during the summary preliminary investigation and, in case of a summary trial, until the accused person appears before the court; by the presiding judge, during the preliminary proceedings and during the trial; by the lower court judge, during the proceedings falling within his jurisdiction; by the presiding judge of the Court of Appeal, during the preliminary proceedings before the Court of Assize, until the Court itself meets and by its presiding judge after its convocation.

3. The judicial authority having jurisdiction according to the previous paragraph may order, where there is no threat of escape, that prisoners and internees who have been moved to civil hospitals or to other external health care centres by its own order, or by order of the prison governor in cases of utmost urgency, shall not be guarded during their stay in hospital, provided that it is not necessary to protect their personal safety.

4. Where a prisoner or an internee not being guarded leaves the health care centre without a justifiable reason, he may be subject to punishment in terms of the first paragraph of Art. 385 of the penal code.

5. As soon as offenders are admitted into a penal institution, they shall be submitted to a medical check in order to verify possible physical or psychological diseases. The health care shall be provided, during detention in prison, by periodic and frequent checks regardless of the requests made by the people concerned.

6. Every day a physician shall visit the sick and those people who request a visit; he shall immediately report the presence of illness requiring particular research and specialist care; furthermore, he shall periodically check the fitness of the subjects for the jobs they have been assigned to do.

7. Prisoners and internees suspected or diagnosed as suffering from a contagious disease shall be immediately isolated. In the case that a psychological illness is suspected, sufficient measures will be taken without delay, in accordance with the rules concerning psychiatric assistance and mental health.

8. In every penal institution for women, special services shall be provided for the health care of pregnant women and women who have recently given birth.

9. Mothers shall be allowed to keep with them in prison their children aged up to three years. Special crêches shall be provided for the care and the assistance of children.

10. The penitentiary administration, for the organisation and for the functioning of the health-care services, may have recourse to local public health-care services, hospital and other medical services, with the agreement of the “Region” and according to the policy of the Ministry of Health.

11. Prisoners and internees may ask to be seen by a physician of their own choice at their own expense. In relation to the accused persons the authorisation of the proceeding judge shall be necessary, until the pronunciation of the first degree sentence.

12. The “local physician” shall visit penal institutions at least twice a year in order to verify the hygiene and sanitary conditions, the adequacy of preventive treatment provided for by the prison health-care service against infectious diseases and the hygiene and sanitary conditions of prisoners in institutions.

13. The “local physician” shall report to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice on the visits carried out and on the provisions to be adopted, also informing the competent regional offices and the Supervisory Judge.

12. Facilities for work, educational and recreational activities

1. In penal institutions, according to treatment demands, facilities shall be available to carry out work, recreational and cultural activities, as well as education and vocational training, and every other association activity.

2. Penal institutions shall also be equipped with a library made up of books and periodicals, chosen by the committee provided for by the second paragraph of art. 16.

3. Representatives of prisoners and internees shall participate in the running of the library.

CHAPTER III
TREATMENT MODES

13. Tailoring treatment to meet the needs of individuals

1. Prison treatment shall meet the particular needs of every offender.

2. The scientific observation of the offender shall be carried out both in relation to convicted persons and internees, in order to record the physical and psychological deficiencies and the other causes of their social maladjustment. The observation shall be carried out at the beginning of the execution of their sentence and shall be continued throughout the sentence.

3. On the basis of the results of the observation, for every convicted person and internee, indications shall be given relevant to the carrying out of the rehabilitating treatment and the relative programme shall be compiled; such a programme may be integrated or modified according to the exigencies arising during the execution of the sentence.

4. The general and particular indications relevant to treatment shall be included, together with the judicial, biographical and health data, in the personal file, in which the developments of the provided treatment and its results are subsequently recorded.

5. The collaboration of convicted persons and internees shall be fostered in relation to the activities of observation and treatment.

13-b. Psychological treatment of persons sentenced for sexual crimes
perpetrated against minors

1. The persons sentenced for the crimes under articles 600-b and 600-c, even if relating to the pornographic materials as per article 600-d.1, 600-e, 609-d, 609-e and 609-k of the Criminal Code, as well as per articles 609-b and 609-h of the same Code, if perpetrated against a minor can be submitted to a psychological treatment aimed at their rehabilitation and support. Their participation in said treatment shall be assessed as per article 4-b, paragraph 1-e, of this Act to the purposes of granting the benefits provided for by the same provision.

14. Assignment, grouping and categories of prisoners and internees

1. The number of prisoners and internees in penal institutions and in sections must be limited so as to favour the tailoring of treatment.

2. The assignment of convicted persons and of internees to single institutions and their grouping into wings of each institution shall be prepared with particular regard to the possibility of carrying out a common rehabilitation programme and the necessity of avoiding mutual bad influences. In regard to the assignments, as a rule, the criteria set out in terms of the first and the second paragraph of art. 42 shall be applied.

3. The separation of accused persons from convicted persons and from internees, of the young from 18 to twenty-five years of age from adults, of convicted persons from internees and of persons convicted to “arrest” from persons convicted to imprisonment shall be provided for.

4. In certain circumstances, prisoners and internees can be admitted to activities organised for a different category of inmates.

5. Women shall be accommodated in separate institutions or in special wings of penal institutions.

14-b. Regime of special surveillance

1. Convicted persons, internees and accused persons may be subjected to a regime of special surveillance for a period not exceeding six months, which can be extended on more than one occasion, on each occasion for a period not exceeding three months, if:

they are people who jeopardise safety by their behaviour or upset the order in prison;
they are people who prevent the activities of other prisoners or internees by violence or threat;
they are people who, in prison life, avail themselves of the state of subjection of other prisoners towards them;

2. The regime under paragraph 1 shall be determined by a motivated provision of the penitentiary administration subject to the opinion of the disciplinary board, plus two experts sitting with the disciplinary board provided for by the fourth paragraph of art. 80.

3. Accused persons shall undergo a regime of special surveillance which is also subject to the opinion of the proceeding judicial authority.

4. In cases of necessity and urgency the administration may temporarily order the special surveillance regime before acquiring the prescribed opinions, which must be obtained within ten days from the date of the provision. After the expiry of such term the administration, having acquired the prescribed opinions, makes its final decisions within ten days and then, without the final decision intervening, the temporary provision falls.

5. Convicted persons, internees and accused persons can be submitted to a regime of special surveillance from the moment of their entry into prison, on the basis of their previous behaviour in prison or of other actual behaviour when at liberty, regardless of the nature of the charge. The judicial authority shall report any element, where known, to the penitentiary administration that decides on the adoption of the provisions within its competence.

6. The provision ordering the regime referred to in this article shall be immediately reported to the supervisory judge so that he exercise his power of supervision.

14-c. Complaint

1. The person concerned may make a complaint to the supervisory court against the provision ordering or extending the regime of special surveillance, within ten days from the communication of the final provision. The complaint shall not suspend the execution of the provision.

2. The supervisory court shall make a decision on the complaint, by order in chambers, within ten days from the receipt of the complaint.

3. The proceedings shall be conducted with the participation of the defence counsel and the public prosecutor. The person concerned and the penitentiary administration may submit reports.

4. Where it is not otherwise provided for, the provisions of chapter II-b of Item II shall be applied.

14-d. Contents of the regime of special surveillance

1. The regime of special surveillance shall involve restrictions strictly necessary for the maintenance of order and safety, for the exercise of prisoners’ and internees’ rights and for the rules on treatment provided for by the Penitentiary Act.

2. As far as the prisoners’ correspondence is concerned, the provisions under article 18-c shall apply.

3. The restrictions referred to in the previous paragraphs shall be laid down in the motivated provision which orders the regime of special surveillance.

4. In every case the restrictions may not involve: hygiene and the exigencies related to health; food; clothing and bedding; the ownership, the purchase and the receipt of goods and objects allowed by the internal regulations, insofar as this is not a hazard to safety; the reading of books and periodicals; religious practices; the use of authorised radio sets; outdoor exercises for at least two hours a day unless the provisions of art. 10 are stated; interviews with defence counsels as well as with spouses, cohabitants, children, parents, brothers and sisters.

5. If the regime of special surveillance is not feasible in the prison where a prisoner or an internee is found, the penitentiary administration may order, by motivated provision, the transfer to another suitable prison, with the least possible prejudice to the prisoner’s defence and to his family, giving immediate notice of it to the supervisory judge. The supervisory judge shall report to the Minister on cases where there are no grounds for the transfer.

15. Elements of treatment

1. The treatment of convicted persons and internees shall be carried out mainly by means of education, work, religion, cultural, recreational and sporting activities and by facilitating proper contact with the outside world and family links.

2. Work shall be guaranteed, unless it is impossible, to convicted persons and internees, for the purpose of re-educating treatment.

3. Accused persons shall be allowed, at their request, to participate in educational, cultural and recreational activities and, justifiable reasons except or if the judicial authority is contrary, to the work activities or to attend vocational training courses, possibly of their choice and, in any event, under conditions suitable to their legal status.

16. Regulations of the prison institution

1. In every prison the penitentiary treatment shall be organised according to the directives given by the penitentiary administration with respect to the demands of the groups of prisoners and internees imprisoned therein.

2. The modes of treatment to be followed in every prison shall be regulated by internal regulations, that are prepared and modified by a committee made up of the supervisory judge, as a president, the governor, the physician, the chaplain, the person in charge of work activities, an educator and a social worker. The committee may have recourse to the experts referred to in art. 80, paragraph 4.

3. Internal regulations shall also regulate the inspections that all persons who are entering or leaving prison, by any means, have to undergo.

4. The internal regulations and amendments thereto shall be approved by the Minister of Justice.

17. Participation of the external community in re-educational actions

1. The aims of re-inclusion of convicted persons and internees into the community shall also be pursued by means of urging and organising the participation of private persons and of public or private institutions or bodies in the re-educational actions.

2. Those people who are interested in the social re-inclusion of prisoners, and who demonstrate an ability to promote in a useful way the development of the contacts between the prison community and the outside community, shall be permitted entry to frequent penal institutions with the authorisation and according to the directives of the supervisory judge, subject to the governor’s favourable opinion.

3. The persons mentioned in the previous para shall work under the supervision of the governor.

18. Visits, talks, correspondence and information

1. Prisoners and internees shall be granted visits and allowed correspondence with family members and other persons, as well as with the prisoners’ ombudsperson, also in order to enable them to carry out a legal act.

2. Visits shall take place in special premises under the control of penitentiary police, this control being merely visual and not auditory.

3. Visits by family members shall be particularly encouraged.

4. The penitentiary administration shall place at prisoners and internees’ disposal the stationary needed for correspondence, where they are short of it.

5. Telephonic contact with family members and, in particular cases with third parties, may be authorised, by the means and precautions provided for by the regulations.

6. Prisoners and internees are authorised to keep with them any newspapers, periodicals and books which are freely for sale outside and to keep other means of information.

7. REPEALED

8. Unless art. 18-b provides, as far as accused persons are concerned, permissions for visits until the 1st degree sentence, and the authorisation for telephonic contact shall fall within the jurisdiction of the judicial authority, under the terms of art. 11, paragraph 2. After the 1st degree sentence, permission for visits shall fall within the jurisdiction of the prison governor.

9. REPEALED

18-b. Interviews with investigative aims

1. The staff of the anti-Mafia investigative Department referred to in art. 3 of law by decree dated 29 October 1991, n° 345, brought into force with amendments by Law n° 410 of 30 December 1991, and of the central and inter-provincial services referred to in art. 12 of law by decree dated 13 May 1991, n°152, brought into force with amendments by Law n° 203 of 12 July 1991, as well as the officers of the investigative police appointed by the persons in charge, at central level, of the above-mentioned Department and of the above-mentioned services, shall have the right to visit prison institutions and may be authorised, under the terms of paragraph 2 of this article, to hold personal interviews with prisoners and internees, in order to obtain information useful for the prevention and the repression of crimes connected to organised crime.

1 b. The provisions under paragraph 1 shall also apply to the persons responsible, at least at provincial level, for the offices or for the detachments of the State Police and of the “Carabinieri” which are competent for carrying out investigations on terrorism, as well as to the criminal police officers appointed by the central level responsible persons; such provisions shall also apply, within the limits connected with the aspects relevant to terrorism funding, to the officers of the “Guardia di Finanza”, appointed by the central level responsible person, with the aim of collecting from prisoners and internees information useful for the prevention and punishment of crimes perpetrated with the aim of terrorism, even international, or of subversion of democratic order.

2. The staff of the police referred to in paragraph 1 and 1 b shall be granted an authorisation to conduct interviews by:

the Minister of Justice or his deputy, where internees, convicted persons or accused persons are concerned;
the public prosecutor, where persons under investigation are concerned;

3. The authorisation to interviews referred to in paragraph 2 shall be recorded in a special classified register kept by the authority competent to issue such authorisations.

4. In cases of particularly urgency, the urgency being certified by the Minister for Home Affairs or, by the Head of the Police, delegated by the Minister, the authorisation to the interview provided for in paragraph 2, sub para a), shall not be required, and an immediate communication to the authority indicated therein shall be made; the above-mentioned authority shall provide for a record to be made into the special classified register referred to in paragraph 3.

5. The national anti-Mafia Prosecutor shall have the power to conduct personal interviews with prisoners and internees, authorisation not being necessary, for the purpose of carrying out his duties of impulse and co-ordination provided for by art. 371-b of the Code of Criminal Procedure; the provisions referred to in paragraph 2 and 4, when concerning interviews with persons who are under investigation, accused or convicted for some of the crimes referred to in art. 51, paragraph 3-b of the Code of penal procedure, shall be communicated to the said national anti-Mafia Prosecutor.

18 c. Restrictions and controls on the correspondence

1. Because of needs relevant to the inquiries both of investigations on and of prevention of crimes, as well as for reasons of order and security of the prison, the following restrictions can be imposed to prisoners and internees, for a period not exceeding six months, which can be extended for periods not exceeding three months:

restrictions on mail and telegraph correspondence as well as on receiving press;
control check on correspondence;
the control of the content of the correspondence envelopes, without reading the correspondence itself.

2. The provisions under paragraph 1 shall not apply when the correspondence is addressed to the subjects indicated at paragraph 5 of article 103 of the Code of penal procedure, to the judicial authorities, to the authorities indicated at article 35 of this Act, to the members of Parliament, to the diplomatic or consular representatives of the States of which the interested persons are citizens and to the administrative or judicial international bodies in charge of human rights protection, of which Italy is a member.

3. The provisions under paragraph 1 shall be adopted by motivated decree, upon request of the public Prosecutor or upon proposal of the prison governor:

by the supervisory judge, for convicted prisoners and internees, as well as for accused persons after the 1st degree sentence;
by the judge indicated at article 279 of the Code of penal procedure for accused prisoners until the 1st degree sentence; if an associate judge is proceeding, the said provision is adopted by the President of the “Tribunale” or of the Court of Assize.

4. The judicial authority indicated at paragraph 3, while ordering the control check of the correspondence, when it does not think to directly do such control, can delegate it to the prison governor or to an officer of the penitentiary Administration, appointed by the same governor.

5. When the judicial authority indicated at paragraph 3, in consequence of the control check, thinks that the correspondence or the press cannot be handed over or forwarded to the addressee, it orders that the same be retained. The prisoner and the internee shall be promptly informed about that.

6. A complaint can be lodged against the provisions under paragraph 1 and paragraph 5, following the procedure provided for by art. 14-c, to the supervisory court, when the provision is issued by the supervisory judge or, in the other cases, to the Court situated in the district where the judge who issued the provisions has his office. The judge who issued the provision cannot be a member of the panel of judges. Unless otherwise provided for by this paragraph, the provisions under article 666 of the Code of criminal procedure shall apply
.
7. In the case provided for by letter c) of paragraph 1, the envelopes containing the correspondence shall be opened in the presence of the prisoner or of the internee.

19. Education

1. Penal institutions shall provide for cultural and vocational training by organising obligatory schooling and vocational training courses, in accordance with the guidelines in force and with the assistance of adequate methods to the personal situation of the subjects.

2. Special attention shall be paid to the cultural and vocational training of prisoners under 25 years of age.

3. Senior secondary schools courses may be started in penal institutions in accordance with the procedures provided for by school regulations.

4. The completion of university education or a course of studies of the same level shall be facilitated and support given to the attendance of school courses through correspondence, radio and television.

5. Access to the publications held in the library will be given, with the right to freely choose the reading material.

20. Work

1. In penal institutions, assignment to work and participation in vocational training courses by prisoners and internees shall be encouraged at any rate. For this purpose, manufacturing activities organised and directly managed by public or private enterprises may be instituted, and vocational training courses may be established, organised and carried out by public firms, or by private firms in agreement with the “Region”.

2. Prison work shall not be characterised as a punishment and shall be remunerated.

3. Work shall be obligatory for convicted persons and for those subject to the security measures of the “penal farm” and the “penal labour colony”.

4. Prisoners subject to the security measures of the prison hospital and of the judicial psychiatric hospital may be assigned work where it conforms with therapeutic aims.

5. The organisation and the methods of prison work shall reflect those in the society outside prison with the purpose of allowing prisoners to acquire a professional skill suitable for normal working conditions in order to facilitate their social re-inclusion.

6. In assigning prisoners work, account should be taken exclusively of the duration of unemployment during their detention or internment, of the family responsibilities, of their skills, as well as the previous documented activities carried out and of the activities they may carry out on their release, with the exclusion of prisoners and internees submitted to the regime of special surveillance referred to in art. 14-b of this law.

7. The employment placement inside the penal institution shall take place observing the classifications established in two special lists: a generic one and another one based on qualification and craft.

8. In order to make up the classifications in the lists and to give permission to the bodies competent to make an employment placement, a committee shall be appointed in each penal institution consisting of the governor, a member from the inspectors or “sovrintendenti” of the Corps of Penitentiary Police and of a representative of the educational staff, elected within the category they belong to, of a representative jointly appointed by the trade union organisations represented in the largest number at national level, of a representative appointed by the district committee for employment having territorial jurisdiction, and of a representative of the local trade unions.

9. A representative of prisoners and internees, drawn by lot according to the methods referred to in the internal regulations of the penal institution, shall participate, without the power to deliberate, in the meetings of the committee.

10. For every member a substitute shall be chosen, appointed or designated according to the criteria previously mentioned.

11. The general rules and regulations applying to ordinary and agricultural placements, as well as art. 19 of the law n° 56 dated 28th February 1987, shall be applied to work outside prison.

12. The general rules and regulations relevant to employment placements shall be applied to everything which is not provided for in this article
.
13. Penitentiary administrations, both at central and local level, shall enter into special agreements with public and private parties or social co-operatives interested in giving prisoners and internees work opportunities. Such agreements shall regulate the object and the conditions of the work, the training and the salary, without any cost being incurred by public finance.

14. The management of penal institutions, making an exception to the rules of general public accountancy and from those of special accountancy, and subject to the authorisation of the Minister of Justice, may sell the products made in prison at cost or below-cost price, taking into account, as far as possible, of the prices charged for corresponding products on the wholesale market in the area where the prison institution is situated.

15. Those prisoners and internees showing particular artisan, cultural and artistic aptitude may be exempted from ordinary work and may be allowed to carry out such activities on their own.

16. Those individuals having insufficient technical knowledge may be admitted to a paid apprenticeship.

17. The number of hours of work undertaken must not exceed the limits laid down by the laws in force in the labour sector and, according to such laws, Sunday rest and insurance and social security protection shall be guaranteed.

18. Those prisoners and internees attending vocational training courses referred to in the first paragraph shall be guaranteed, as far as regional allocations allow, insurance protection as well as any protection provided for by the provisions in force regarding the above mentioned courses.

19. For the purposes of this law, a disqualification deriving from a criminal or civil sentence will not be applied, as regards the establishment and the carrying out of work relations as well as the assumption to the membership of social co-operatives set forth in Law n° 381 dated 8 November 1991.

20. By 31st March every year the Minister of Justice shall transmit to Parliament an analytical report in relation to the implementation of the provisions of law relevant to prisoners’ work in the previous year.

20-b. Methods of organisation of work

1. The regional Superintendent of the Penitentiary Administration may employ individuals who do not form part of the Penitentiary Administration, by contract, with the technical management of manufacturing process; such individuals shall provide for specific training for the people in charge of the manufacturing process, also contributing to prisoners’ vocational training, in agreement with the “Region”. New manufacturing processes may also be initiated, by way of experiment, having recourse, if necessary, to the services of public or private enterprises and acquiring the projects relevant to the above-mentioned services.

2. The Penitentiary Administration, moreover, applying the provisions referred to in art. 20, para 11, being consistent, shall promote prison manufactured products also by means of relevant agreements which will be entered into with public or private enterprises having a distribution system of their own.

3. Subject to the agreement of the prison governor, private enterprises which place an order for supply to the Penitentiary administration may, depart from the rules of general public accountancy and of special accountancy, make a deferred payment, according to existing customs and rules.
4. Art. 1 of Law n° 971 dated 3 July 1942, and art. 611 of the provisions approved by Royal Decree n° 1908 dated 16 May 1920, are repealed.

21. Work outside prison

1. Prisoners and internees may be admitted to work outside prison if there are conditions suitable to guarantee that the purposes provided for in art. 15 shall be positively achieved. However, in the case of a person sentenced to imprisonment for one of the crimes referred to in art. 4-b, para 1, assignment to outside work may be allowed after at least one third of the sentence has been served, and in any case after no more than 5 years, has been served. In relation to persons sentenced to life imprisonment, such assignment may only be decided upon after at least ten years have been served.

2. Prisoners and internees admitted to outside work shall normally be sent to carry out their tasks without an escort, unless it is considered necessary for security reasons. Accused persons shall be admitted to work outside prison with the prior authorisation of the competent Judicial Authority.

3. Where private enterprises are concerned, a prisoner or an internee shall work under the direct control of the prison management he has been assigned to; for this purpose, the management may make use of employees and of the probation service.

4. In relation to every prisoner or internee, the order admitting them to work outside prison shall be enforceable after approval from the Supervisory Judge.

4-b. The provisions of the previous paragraphs as well as the provision under the second sentence of paragraph 16 of article 20 shall apply also to prisoners and internees who are admitted to attend vocational training courses outside prisons.

4-c. Prisoners and internees, as a rule, can be assigned to volunteer and non remunerated activities, also keeping into account their specific job skills and attitudes, within the framework of projects of community works for the State, the Regions, the Provinces, the Municipalities, the “consortium of communes in mountain areas”, associations of municipalities, local healthcare agencies or for national and international bodies and organisations committed in social work, healthcare assistance or volunteer activities. Prisoners and internees can also be assigned to volunteer and non remunerated activities in favour of the victims of their crimes. In any case, prisoners’ and internees’ activity is carried out under modalities which do not prejudice their needs relating to their work, study, family or health. Those prisoners and internees who are charged with or sentenced for the crime as per article 416-b of the Criminal Code and for the crimes perpetrated under the conditions provided for by the same article or with the aim of facilitating the activities of criminal association indicated in the same article, shall be excluded from the provisions of this paragraph. If consistent, the modalities provided for by article 54 of the legislative decree nr. 274 of 28th August 2000 shall apply.

21-b. Assistance to children who are minors outside prison

1. Sentenced women and female internees may be allowed to take care of and assist their children under the age of ten, outside prison, in terms of article 21.

2. All the provisions relevant to work outside prison, in particular art. 21, are applied
.
3. Under the same conditions, assistance to a child outside prison may also be granted to his father who is in prison, if the child’s mother is dead or completely unable to take care of him and it is not possible to grant custody of the child to anyone else.

21-c. Visits to sick children

1. The imprisoned mothers – either sentenced or accused or internee – in case of imminent danger of death or of serious health conditions of their child, even not living with them, shall be authorised by a provision of the supervisory judge or, in the cases of extreme emergency, of the prison governor, to pay a visit to the sick child, under the precautions provided for by the penitentiary regulations. The imprisoned fathers being in the same condition as the mothers shall also be authorised to the same visit. In case of child’s hospitalisation, the modalities of the visit shall be regulated keeping into account the duration of the hospitalisation and the course of the illness.

2. The imprisoned mother – either sentenced or accused or internee – of children under the age of ten, even not living with her, or the imprisoned father – either sentenced or accused or internee – when the mother is dead or completely unable to take care of children, shall be authorised , by a provision to be issued by the competent judge within the 24 hours before the time of the examination and under the modalities set by the same provision, to assist their children during specialist medical examinations, relevant to the child’s serious health conditions.

22. Determination of earnings

1. The earnings for each category of worker shall be fairly established in relation to the quantity and quality of work actually carried out, the organisation and type of work, in proportion to at least two-thirds of the wages provided for in the collective agreements. For this purpose, a Committee shall be constituted, consisting of and chaired by the Director General of the Penitentiary Administration Department, the Director of the Labour Office of prisoners and internees of the Penitentiary Administration Department, an Inspector General of penal institutions, a representative of the Ministry of Treasury, a representative of the Ministry of Employment and Social Security and a delegate for each of the trade union organisations represented in the largest number at national level

2. The Inspector General of penal institutions shall act as secretary of the Committee.

3. The above mentioned Committee shall fix the pay due to trainees.

4. The Committee shall also fix the maximum paid time for leave of absence from work and the conditions and means to benefit from it, relevant to prisoners and internees assigned to work, inside or outside prison, or to carry out services within the prison, who are attending courses of compulsory education or secondary schools, or vocational training courses, where such courses be held in prisons, during ordinary working hours.

23. Remuneration and family allowance

1. REPEALED

2. REPEALED

3. REPEALED

4. Working prisoners and internees shall be entitled to receive family allowance for dependants, as envisaged by law.

5. Family allowance shall be paid over directly to the dependants according to the provisions laid down by the regulations.

24. Distrainability and liability to attachment of remuneration

1. The amount due by way of compensation for damage and for the repayment of the expenses of proceedings shall be taken from the remuneration due to convicted persons. The amount due in conformity with art. 2, para 2 and 3, shall also be taken from the remuneration due to convicted persons and internees.

2. In any case, an amount in proportion to three-fifths shall be set aside for convicted persons. Such an amount shall not be subject to distraint or attachment, except for the obligations deriving from maintenance, or from drawings for the compensation of damage caused to the movables and immovables belonging to the administration.

3. The remuneration due to internees and accused persons shall not be subject to distraint or attachment, except for the obligations deriving from maintenance, or from drawings for the compensation of damage caused to the movables and immovables belonging to the administration.

25. “Peculio”

1. Prisoners’ and internees’ “peculio” shall consist of the portion of the remuneration due to them in terms of the previous article, of the money held when they entered prison, of the money made from the things belonging to them, of the money sent by their family or by others, or of the money received as a bonus or as a benefit.

2. The amount consisting in “peculio” shall bear a legal rate of interest for the holders.

3. The “peculio” shall be held on deposit by the Management of the prison institution.

4. The regulations shall provide the modalities of the deposit and shall establish the portion of “peculio” available for prisoners and internees in order to buy authorised personal belongings or to be sent to family members and cohabitants, and the portion of “peculio” to be given to prisoners and internees when they are released from prison institutions.

25-b. Regional Committees for prison work

1. The regional committees for prison work shall be set up. They shall be presided over by the regional superintendent of the Penitentiary Administration; they shall consist of the local representatives of the entrepreneurial associations and of co-operative associations as well as of the representatives of the “Region” working in the field of employment and vocational training. An officer in service at the regional employment office shall take part on behalf of the Ministry for Employment and Social Security.

2. Prison manufacturing activities shall be organised, on the basis of directives, by the regional Directorates of the penitentiary Administration, after hearing the regional committees for prison work as well as the managements of each penal institution.

3. Workplaces for prison population shall correspond, either from a qualitative and quantitative point of view, to the real requirements of each penal institution. They shall be set out in a table arranged by the prison management, where the places relevant to internal industrial, agricultural manufactures and to services for the establishment shall be separately listed.

4. Workplaces available outside prison in public or private firms or in co-operative societies, as well as workplaces relevant to the manufacturing processes that private firms or co-operative societies intend to organise and manage directly inside prisons, shall also be listed in table referred to para 3
.
5. Every year the prison management shall organise and set up a work plan with regard to the number of prisoners, to the availability of civilian staff and of penitentiary police officers as well as to manufacturing facilities.

6. The above-mentioned table, which may be amended if there is a change in the situation, and the annual working plan shall be approved by the regional superintendent of the Penitentiary Department, after hearing the regional committee for prison work.

7. The work activities which may be carried out in “low security prisons” shall be outlined in the regulations of each penal institution.

26. Religion and religious practices

1. Prisoners and internees shall be free to profess their own religious faith, to practice worship and to acquire religious education.

2. The celebration of the rites of the Catholic religion shall be guaranteed in every prison.

3. At least one chaplain shall be assigned to each prison.

4. Believers of another religion other than the Catholic faith shall be entitled to receive, on their request, visits from ministers of their own faith and to celebrate the related rites.

27. Cultural, recreational and sports activities

1. Cultural, recreational and sports activities, as well as other activities aimed at the development of prisoners’ and internees’ personality, shall be fostered and organised, also to the purposes of re-educational treatment.

2. A Commission, consisting of the prison governor, educators and social workers and representatives of prisoners and internees, shall be responsible for the organisation of the activities referred to in the previous paragraph, also maintaining contacts with the outside world useful for the re-inclusion of prisoners in the community.

28. Family links

1. Special attention shall be paid in order to maintain, improve or re-establish relations between prisoners and internees and their own families.

29. Communications relevant to the state of detention, to transfers, to illness and to death

1. Prisoners and internees shall be allowed to immediately inform their relatives and other persons, indicated by them, about their entrance into a penal institution or about their transfer already carried out.

2. Where the death or a serious physical or mental infirmity of a prisoner or an internee is concerned, their relatives or other persons indicated by them shall be promptly informed about it; similarly, prisoners and internees shall be promptly informed about the death or a serious illness of a person referred to in the previous paragraph.

30. Leave

1. In the case of the imminent danger of death of a family member or cohabitant, convicted persons and internees may be granted leave to go and see the sick, with the precautions provided for by the regulations; such leave shall be granted by the Supervisory Judge. Accused persons shall be granted leave, during 1st degree proceedings, by those judicial authorities, according to the second paragraph of art. 11, also competent to provide for the transfer of accused persons into outside health centres until the 1st degree sentence has been pronounced. Leave shall be granted by the president of the court, during the proceedings of appeal, and by the president of the judicial office where the proceedings of appeal have taken place, during the proceedings of cassation.

2. Equivalent leave may be granted exceptionally for particularly serious events.

3. A prisoner who fails to return to prison on the expiry of his leave without a justifiable reason, if such absence is longer three hours and up to twelve, shall undergo disciplinary sanction; where the absence is even longer, he shall be liable to punishment in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 385 of the Criminal Code and the provision contained in the last paragraph of the same article shall be applicable.

4. An internee returning to prison more than three hours after the expiry of his leave without justifiable reason shall be punished by disciplinary measures.

30-b. Provisions and Complaints as regards leave

1. Before deciding on a request for leave, the competent authority shall ascertain the existence of the reasons alleged, through the public security authorities, also of the place where the applicant is asking to go.

2. The decision on the request shall be adopted by motivated provision.

3. The provision shall be immediately notified without formalities, also by telegraph or telephone, to the Public Prosecutor and the person concerned, who have twenty-four hours thereafter to lodge a complaint to the Supervisory Court, where the provision has been taken by the Supervisory Judge, or else to the Court of Appeal, where the provision has been issued by some other judicial body.

4. The Supervisory Court or the Court of Appeal, after obtaining concise information, where required, shall act within ten days from the receipt of the complaint, by immediate notification of the same in accordance with the previous paragraph.

5. The Supervisory Judge, or the President of the Court of Appeal, shall not belong to the panel deciding on the complaint against the provision issued by him.

6. Where it is not possible for the Magistrates of the district to constitute the Supervisory Court, because of the provision contained in the previous paragraph, the composition of the Court shall be in accordance with Art. 68, para 3 and 4.

7. The enforcement of the leave shall be suspended until the expiry of the time limit laid down by para 3 and during the proceedings provided by para 4, until the expiry of the time limit provided therein.

8. The provisions referred to in the previous paragraph shall not be applied to leaves granted in accordance with the first paragraph of Art. 30. In such a case an escort shall be obligatory.

9. The Prosecutor General to the Court of Appeal shall be informed about the leave which has been granted and the outcome of the leave, by means of a quarterly report by the bodies which granted the said leave.

30-c. Bonus leave

1. The Supervisory Judge, after consulting the prison governor, may grant bonus leave, the duration of which cannot exceed fifteen days each time, to convicted persons for good behaviour in accordance with the following paragraph 8 and where they are not considered a danger to society, for the purpose of allowing them to cultivate affective, cultural or work interests. The length of bonus leave may not exceed a total of forty-five days in each year of the term to be served.

2. As far as convicted minors are concerned, the lenght of bonus leave may not exceed thirty days each time and the total lenght may not exceed one hundred days in each year of the term to be served.

3. The experience of bonus leave is an integral part of the treatment programme and it must be followed by educators and penitentiary social workers working together with social workers in the community.

4. The granting of bonus leave is allowed:

in respect of those sentenced “to arrest” or detention not exceeding four years, also where it is attached to arrest;
in respect of those sentenced to detention exceeding four years, except where provided by letter c), after having served at least one quarter of the sentence;
in respect of those sentenced to detention for one of the crimes referred to in Art. 4-b, paragraphs 1, 1-c and 1-d, after having served at least half of the sentence and, in any event, not over ten years;
in respect of those sentenced to life imprisonment, after having served at least ten years of their sentence.

5. In respect of offenders who, while serving their sentence or the “restrictive measures” have been charged with a wilful and malicious crime committed while serving their sentence or during the enforcement of a measure restricting their personal liberty, the granting of bonus leave shall be allowed only after two years from the date when the crime has been committed.

6. The “precautions” relating to bonus leave referred to in the first paragraph of Art. 30 shall be applied, if necessary; the provisions referred to in the third and the fourth paragraph of the same article shall be applied as well.

7. The provision relating to bonus leave shall be subject to a complaint to the Supervisory Court, according to the procedures referred to in Art. 30-b.

8. The behaviour of convicted persons shall be considered “good” where, during their detention, they have constantly shown a sense of responsibility and behaved correctly in the activities organised in prison and in any eventual work or cultural activities.

30-d. Granting of bonus leaves to recidivists

1. The bonus leaves can be granted to prisoners to whom the recidivism is applied provided for by article 99, paragraph 4, of the penal Code in the following cases provided for by paragraph four of article 30-c:

a. under letter a), after having served one third of the sentence;
b. under letter b), after having served half of the sentence;
c. under letters c) and d) after having served two thirds of the sentence and, however, not more than fifteen years.

31. Constitution of prisoners’ and internees’ representatives

1. The nomination of representatives of prisoners and internees provided for by Art. 12 and Art. 27 shall be drawn by lot according to the methods indicated in the internal regulations of the institution.

CHAPTER IV
PRISON REGIME

32. Behavioural regulations for prisoners and internees.Obligation to compensate for damage caused

1. Prisoners and internees, at the time they enter prison, and then later when necessary, shall be informed about the general and special provisions relevant to their rights and duties, to discipline and to treatment.

2. They must observe the rules and the provisions governing prison life.

3. No prisoner or internee, where involved in the services of the institution, can have tasks implying disciplinary power or enabling him to have a prominent position towards others.

4. Prisoners and internees must take care of the objects placed at their disposal, avoiding causing damage to other people’s property.

5. Prisoners and internees who cause damage to the “movables” belonging to the penitentiary administration must compensate for them without prejudice to any eventual criminal or disciplinary proceedings.

33. Isolation

1. In penal institutions, continued isolation is allowed:

when required for health reasons;
during the enforcement of the sanction of exclusion from association activities;
for accused persons, during the phase of the preliminary investigation and for those arrested, during the phase of precautionary proceedings, where and as long as this is considered necessary by the judicial authority.

34. Personal searches

1. Prisoners and internees may be subjected to personal searches for security reasons.

2. The methods of such search procedure must be carried out so as not to offend the prisoner’s personal dignity.

35. Right to complain

1. Prisoners and internees may make requests and complaints, either orally or in writing, even in a sealed envelope:

to the prison governor, to the Regional Director, to the Head of Department of the penitentiary administration and to the Minister of Justice;
to the judicial authorities and healthcare authorities visiting prisons;
to the national prisoners’ ombudsperson and to regional or local prisoners’ ombudspersons;
to the President of the regional council;
to the supervisory judge;
to the Head of State.

35-b. Jurisdictional complaint

1. The procedure relevant to the complaint under article 69, paragraph 6, shall be carried out in terms of articles 666 and 678 of the Code of criminal procedure. Except for the cases where the requests are manifestly unfounded in terms of article 666, paragraph 2 of the Code of criminal procedure, the supervisory judge shall fix the date of the hearing and inform thereof the administration concerned, which has the right to appear or to submit observations and requests.

2. The complaint under article 69, paragraph 6, letter a) shall be lodged within ten days from the communication of the provision.

3. In case of acceptance, the supervisory judge, in the cases provided for by article 69, paragraph 6, letter a), orders the cancellation of the provision inflicting the disciplinary sanction. In the cases under article 69, paragraph 6, letter b), once it is ascertained that the prejudice is currently existing, he shall order the administration to put a remedy to it within the deadline indicated by the judge.

4. Against the decision of the supervisory judge a complaint to the supervisory court can be lodged within fifteen days within fifteen days from the communication of the notice of submission.

4-b. Against the decision of the supervisory court a complaint to the court of cassation can be lodged due to breach of law, within fifteen days from the communication of the notice of submission.

5. In the case of failure to enforce a provision which cannot be appealed anymore, the person concerned or his defence counsel, appointed with special powers, may request the compliance to the supervisory judge who issued the provision. The provisions established by articles 666 and 678 of the Code of criminal procedure shall be respected.

6. The supervisory judge, when accepting the request:

shall order to comply, indicating the relevant modalities and times, taking into account the programme set by the Administration to enforce the provision, and provided that said programme is compatible with the fulfilment of the right;
shall annul all the acts possibly violating or eluding the provision which was not enforced;
REPEALED
shall appoint, where necessary, a specially appointed commissioner.

7. The supervisory Judge shall know about all the issues concerning the exact compliance, including those ones concerning the acts of the specially appointed commissioner.

8. Against the provision issued for the compliance, the appeal for breach of law before the court of cassation can be lodged.

35-c. Compensatory remedies following the violation of article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental freedoms against prisoners and internees

1. When the prejudice indicated by article 69, paragraph 6, letter b) consists of a period of time not shorter than fifteen days, under detention conditions such as to violate article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental freedoms, transposed by law of 4th August 1955, nr. 848, as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights, upon application submitted by the inmate in person or through his defence counsel, appointed with special powers, the supervisory judge shall order, as compensation for damages, a reduction of the sentence to be served equal to one day per each ten days served while the applicant suffered the damage.

2. Where the term to be served is such as it is not possible to deduct the whole percentage provided for by paragraph 1, the supervisory judge shall also settle to the applicant an amount of money of 8.00 € per each day of damage suffered, with reference to the remaining term and as a compensation for damages. The supervisory judge shall proceed similarly where the period of detention served under conditions not complying with article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental freedoms is shorter than fifteen days.

3. Those who suffered the damage provided for by paragraph 1 while in pre-trial or on remand detention, which is not computable in the determination of the sentence to be served or those who served their prison sentence can submit an action, in person or through their defence counsels, appointed with special powers, before the court competent over the district where they live. Such action must be submitted within six months from the end of detention – otherwise it will not be valid. The Court shall decide, sitting as a solo judge, under the forms provided for by articles 737 and following of the Code of civil procedure. The order deciding the provision shall not be appealed. The compensation for damages shall be paid under the measure provided by paragraph 2.

36. Disciplinary regime

1. The disciplinary regime shall be enforced in such a way as to stimulate a sense of responsibility and self-control. The disciplinary regime shall be suited to the physical and psychiatric conditions of the subjects.

37. Rewards

1. Rewards constitute recognition of the sense of responsibility demonstrated in personal conduct and in activities organised in prison.

2. The regulations provide for rewards and for the competent bodies having jurisdiction to grant them.

38. Disciplinary infringements

1. Prisoners and internees cannot be punished for an act which is not explicitly provided for as an infringement by the regulations.

2. No sanction may be inflicted except with motivated provision after bringing the presumed infringement to the attention of the person concerned, who is allowed to plead his own defence.

3. In the enforcement of the sanctions, the nature and the seriousness of an act as well as the behaviour and the personal conditions of the person concerned must be taken into account.

4. The sanctions shall be enforced having respect for prisoners’ and internees’ personality.

39. Disciplinary sanctions

1. Disciplinary infringements may only lead to the following sanctions:

warning by the governor;
admonition, by the governor, in the presence of members of staff and of a group of prisoners or internees;
exclusion from recreational and sports activities for not more than ten days;
isolation during the time spent out of doors for not more than ten days;
exclusion from association activities for not more than fifteen days.

2. The sanction of exclusion from association activities cannot be enforced without a written certification, issued by the physician, certifying that the person concerned is able to bear the sanction. The person excluded from association activities must undergo constant medical checks during the whole period of isolation.

3. The enforcement of the sanction of exclusion from association activities is suspended in the case of pregnant women, mothers of babies under six months of age, and nursing mothers of babies under one year of age.

40. Competent authorities having jurisdiction to decide on sanctions

1. The sanctions of “warning” and “admonition” shall be decided by the prison governor.

2. The other sanctions shall be decided by the disciplinary council, composed of the governor or, in the case of his legitimate impediment, of the highest ranking member of the staff, acting as a Chairman, the physician and the educator.

41. Employment of physical force and use of means of coercion

1. The use of physical force against prisoners and internees shall not be allowed where it is not necessary in order to prevent or avoid acts of violence, to prevent escape attempts or to overcome resistance, even passive, in the execution of given orders.

2. Staff members who, for any reason, use physical force against prisoners or internees must immediately report this fact to the prison governor who, without delay, shall order clinical tests and proceed with the other investigations relevant to the case.

3. No means of physical coercion can be used where it is not explicitly provided for in the regulations and, in any event, it shall not be possible to have recourse to it with a disciplinary aim, but only with the aim of avoiding injure to people or damage things or to guarantee safety of the prisoner himself.

4. The use must be limited to the time strictly necessary and must be constantly monitored by a physician.

5. Penitentiary police officers in service inside prisons shall not be allowed to carry weapons except in exceptional cases where this has been ordered by the governor.

41-b. Emergency situations

1. The Minister of Justice is empowered to suspend the enforcement of the usual rules governing treatment for prisoners and internees, in the prison concerned or in a part of it, in exceptional cases of prison riot or other serious emergency situations. That suspension must be based on the necessity of restoring order and security and its duration shall be strictly limited to the achievement of the above-mentioned goals.

2. Where serious reasons of public order and security occur, also upon request of the Minister for Home Affairs, the Minister of Justice shall also be empowered to suspend, completely or in part, with regard to persons imprisoned for any of the crimes under the first sentence of para 1 of art. 4-b, or anyway for a crime perpetrated making use of the conditions of or with the purpose of facilitating one mafia-type association, in relation to whom there is evidence of current links with criminal, terrorist or subversive organisations, the application of the rules governing treatment and of the provisions provided for by this law which may be in conflict with the requirements for order and security. Such suspension shall involve restrictions necessary to meet the above-mentioned requirements and to prevent links with the organisations mentioned in the previous sentence. In case of concurrent sentences or of concurrent pre-trial detention orders for one person, the suspension can be ordered also when the inmate served the part of sentence or of pre-trial detention relevant to the crimes indicated in article 4-b.

2-b. The provisions under para 2 are issued by motivated decree by the Minister of justice, even upon request of the Minister of Home Affairs after hearing the Public Prosecutor Office which carries out preliminary investigation or the Office of the proceeding judge and after acquiring any other necessary information at the National Antimafia Department and at the police bodies, both central and specialised in fighting against organised crime, terrorism or subversive crime, within their respective competence. The same provision shall last for a period of four years, and it can be extended, under the same forms, for further periods of two years each. Such extension is ordered when there is evidence that the prisoner’s or the internee’s capacity to maintain links with criminal, terrorist or subversive organisations still subsists, keeping into account also the criminal profile and the position of the subject within the association, the currently continuing criminal activity of the offenders’ organisation, the occurrence of new charges, which were not assessed before, the outcomes of the penitentiary treatment and the subject’s family standard of living. The simple flowing of time is not, in itself, a sufficient evidence to exclude the subject’s ability to keep the links with his association or to demonstrate that such organisation is not active anymore.

2-c. [Repealed]

2-d. The prisoners subjected to this special detention regime shall be placed in prisons exclusively dedicated to them, situated preferably on islands, or, anyway, in special wings which shall be separated, under a logistics point of view, from the rest of the penal establishment, and guarded by specialised units of the Penitentiary Police. The suspension of the rules governing treatment and of the provisions under para 2 provides for:

the adoption of measures of high internal and external security, mainly with regard to the need of preventing contacts with the criminal association to which the offender currently belongs or refers, contrasts with opposing associations, interactions with other prisoners or internees belonging to the same association or to other associations allied to it;
that the number of visits shall be limited to one per month, taking place at regular intervals and in special premises equipped in order to prevent the exchange of objects. The visits with persons other than relatives and cohabitants are forbidden, save for exceptional cases established each time by the prison governor or, as for accused persons until the first degree sentence has been issued, by the competent judicial authority in terms of para 2 of art. 11. The visits shall be subjected to an auditory control, and shall be recorded subject to motivated authorisation of the competent judicial authority in terms of para 2 of art. 11; a motivated provision by the prison governor, or, as for accused persons until the first degree sentence has been issued, by the competent judicial authority in terms of para 2 of art. 11, and only after the first six months of enforcement, may authorise, for those ones who did not receive a visit, one telephone call per month with relatives and cohabitants, not exceeding ten minutes, which shall anyway be recorded. The visits shall anyway be video-recorded. The provisions of this letter shall not apply to the interviews with the defence counsels, with whom it will be possible to have one telephone call or one interview, up to three times a week, of the same duration as the visits or the telephone calls with family members;
the limitation of the amount of money, of the goods and of the objects that prisoners may receive from outside;
the exclusion from representatives of prisoners and internees;
the checking of correspondence, except for with Members of Parliament, with European or national authorities having competence in the field of justice;
the limitation of daily outdoor stay, in groups composed of no more than four persons, up to two hours a day, without prejudice to the lowest limit provided by art 10, para 1. Moreover, all the measures for security shall be adopted, even through logistics arrangements in the detention premises, necessary to ensure the total impossibility to communicate among prisoners belonging to different groups, to exchange objects and to cook food.

2-e. Complaints against provision of enforcement may be made by the prisoner or by the internee in relation to whom the enforcement of the regime under para 2 has been ordered or extended, or by their defence counsel. The complaint shall be made within twenty days from the date of the communication of the provision, and the decision on it shall be made by the supervisory court of Rome. The complaint shall not suspend the enforcement of the provision.

2-f. The court, within ten days from receiving the complaint under para 2-e, shall make a decision in chambers, in the forms provided by articles 666 and 678 of the code of criminal procedure, on the existence of the requirements for the adoption of the provision. During the hearing, the function of public prosecutor can be performed by a representative of the office of the State prosecutor as indicated in paragraph 2-b or of the national anti-mafia prosecutor. The national anti-mafia prosecutor, the public prosecutor indicated in paragraph 2-b, the general prosecutor at the court of appeal, the prisoner, the internee or the defence counsel can make a complaint, within ten days from the communication, to the court of cassation against the provision of the court for violation of the law. The complaint shall not suspend the enforcement of the provision, and shall be transmitted without delay to the court of cassation. Where the complaint is admitted, the Minister of justice, if he intends to make a new provision in terms of para 2, shall point out, keeping into account the decision of the supervisory court, new elements or elements not evaluated during the complaint proceedings.

2-g. As for the prisoner’s or the internee’s participation in the hearing, the provisions under article 146-b of the norms of enforcement, of coordination and temporary norms of the Code of penal procedure, provided for by the Legislative Decree nr. 271 of 28th July 1989.

42. Transfers

1. Transfers shall be ordered for serious and substantiated security reasons, for reasons relevant to the prison, for reasons of justice, health, study and family reasons.

2. In ordering transfers, the criteria of assigning prisoners to penal institutions located near their family residence must be favoured.

3. Prisoners and internees shall be transferred with their own personal belongings and with at least a part of their “peculio”.

42 b. Escorted transport of prisoners

1. This is the escorting, from one place to another, of prisoners, internees, persons held by the police, arrested persons or, in any event, persons deprived of their liberty.

2. Escorted transport of adult prisoners and internees shall be carried out, in the shortest time possible, by the Corps of Penitentiary Police, according to the methods provided for by laws and by regulations and, as far as women are concerned, with the assistance of female members of staff.

3. The escorted transport of persons for whom the Centres for Juvenile Justice have competence may be made to different police forces, in the locations where members of the Corp of Penitentiary Police assigned to the juvenile sector are not available.

4. During escorted transport, proper care shall be taken in order to protect the transferred persons from public curiosity and from any type of publicity, as well as to prevent them from having useless discomforts. The non-observance of this provision shall be considered for disciplinary purposes.

5. During individual escorted transports, the use of handcuffs is compulsory where required because of the prisoner’s dangerousness or there is threat of escape or because of environment circumstances making the transfer difficult. In all other cases, the use of handcuffs or of any other means of physical coercion is prohibited. As far as individual escorted transports of prisoners and internees are concerned, the assessment of the prisoner’s dangerousness or of the threat of escape shall be made, at the time when the escorted transport is ordered, by the judicial authority or by the competent prison management, which also issue the relevant instructions.

6. During collective escorted transports, multiple modular handcuffs of the types provided for by ministerial decree are compulsory. The use of any other means of physical coercion is prohibited.

7. During individual and collective escorted transports, in cases provided for by the regulations, prisoners shall be allowed to wear plain clothes. The escorted transports of persons under paragraph 3 are usually carried out in plain clothes.

43. Release

1. The release of prisoners and internees shall be carried out, without delay, by the prison management on the basis of a written order either from the competent judicial authority or the Police.

2. The prison governor shall give notice of the envisaged release, at least three months in advance, to the social assistance council and the Probation Service Centre in the place where the penal institution is located and the above-mentioned bodies situated where the subject is going to take up his residence, communicating all data necessary for the proper aftercare interventions. Should it not be possible to envisage the release three months in advance, the governor shall communicate the prescribed data as soon as he knows of the relevant decision.

3. In addition to what is specifically provided for by law, the governor shall inform in advance the supervisory judge, the police commissioner and the police office having territorial jurisdiction, of any release, also temporary, from the penal institution.

4. The prison disciplinary board, on release or afterwards, shall issue, to a prisoner requesting it, a certificate containing any vocational training obtained as well as impartial information about his behaviour.

5. Where a person does not have civilian clothes, he shall be provided with them.

44. Births, marriages, deaths

1. In official documents relevant to weddings celebrated in prison, births and deaths which occur in penal institutions, the prison shall not be mentioned.

2. The prison governor’s office shall immediately inform the judicial authority having jurisdiction in that area, the judicial authority which had jurisdiction over the subject, and the Ministry of Justice, about the death of a prisoner or an internee.

3. The corpse shall be placed immediately at the disposal of their relatives.

CHAPTER V
ASSISTANCE

45. Assistance to the families

1. The treatment of prisoners and internees shall be combined with actions directed at giving assistance to their families.

2. Such actions are aimed also at maintaining and improving the relationships between the subjects and their families, as well as removing problems that may impede their social reintegration.

3. Collaboration from both public and private organisations qualified in providing social assistance shall be used for this purpose.

46. Post-prison assistance

1. Prisoners and internees shall receive particular assistance during the period of time immediately preceding their release and for an appropriate period of time after their release.

2. Final reinsertion into life outside prison is made easier by actions carried out by the probation service also in co-operation with the organisations mentioned in the previous article.

3. Notice is given to the competent public health authorities of the release of prisoners and internees suffering from serious physical impairment or from mental illness or abnormality, in order for those authorities to provide the necessary assistance.

CHAPTER VI
COMMUNITY MEASURES AND RELEASE OF DEBT

47. Assignment of the offender to the Probation Service

1. If a sentence imposed does not exceed three years, the sentenced offender may be assigned to the Probation Service outside prison, for a period equal to the length of the sentence to be served.

2. The order shall be issued on the basis of the results of the observation of the prisoner, which is carried out in prison, for at least one month, by an appropriate team, when it is deemed that the measure itself, also through the obligations and prohibitions referred to in para 5, should contribute to the re-education of the offender and ensure prevention from the risk of him committing other crimes.

3. The assignment to the Probation Service may be ordered without carrying out the observation in prison where the sentenced person, after the committal of the crime, showed such behaviour as to allow the judgement to be made in terms of para 2.

3-b. The assignment to the Probation service can also be granted to the finally sentenced person who has to serve a sentence not exceeding four years, even if remaining part of a longer sentence, when, during at least the year before the submission of a request, either serving a final sentence or under a pre-trial or remand measure or at liberty, he had a behaviour such as to allow the assessment under paragraph 2.

4. The request for assignment to the Probation Service is submitted after the beginning of the enforcement of the sentence, to the supervisory court having jurisdiction over the place of enforcement. When there is a serious prejudice stemming from the prolongation of the offender’s detention, the request can be submitted to the supervisory judge having jurisdiction over the place of detention. The supervisory judge may order the offender’s release and his temporary assignment to the probation service, if concrete indications are provided concerning the eligibility of the offender to be assigned to the probation service and concerning the serious prejudice deriving from the offender’s imprisonment, and if there is no danger of escape. The order is effective until the decision of the supervisory court, to which the supervisory judge shall immediately transmit the proceedings, and which shall decide within 60 days.

5. When assignment is granted, the relevant minutes shall indicate the obligations and prohibitions to be complied with by the subject with regard to his relations with the probation service, his domicile, his freedom of movement, his work and his disqualification from attending specified premises.

6. The said minutes may also establish that, during either the whole or a part of the assignment period, the sentenced offender shall not reside in one or more local authority area or that he shall reside in a particular local authority area; in particular, obligations and prohibitions are stipulated preventing the subject from engaging in activities or from maintaining personal relationships that might lead to the commission of further offences.

7. The minutes shall also provide for any possible reparation by the assigned person in respect of the victim of the offence, as well as his compliance with family duties.

8. During the assignment, the obligations and prohibitions may be modified by the Supervisory Judge. Temporary derogations to such obligations and prohibitions shall be authorised, upon proposal of the director of the office for the execution of sentences in the community, by the supervisory judge, even in oral form in urgent cases.

9. The Probation Service shall supervise the conduct of the assigned person and shall assist him in overcoming the difficulties of his social re-insertion, by establishing contacts with his family and with the environment where he lives.

10. The Probation Service shall make periodical reports to the Supervisory Judge on the behaviour of the assigned offender.

11. Assignment shall be revoked where the offender's behaviour is against the law or contrary to provisions, and is deemed incompatible with the continuation of probation.

12. However, successful completion of the probation period by the offender terminates the prison sentence and all other penal effects. The Supervisory Court, if the persons concerned is in poor economic conditions, can also declared the pecuniary penalty as terminated, where it was not already collected.

12b. The person assigned to the probation service who, during the assignment period, has shown a real social rehabilitation, which can be proved by his behaviours revealing his positive development, a reduction of the sentence may be granted under article 54. Articles 69, para 8, and 69-b as well as article 54 para 3 shall apply.

47-b. Assignment to the Probation Service in Particular Cases
Article repealed by article 3 of Law nr. 165 dated 27th May 1998. This measure is still provided by article 94 of the DPR dated 9th October 1990, nr 309.[1]

47-c. Home Detention

01. The sentence of imprisonment for any crime, excluding those provided for by book II, title XII, Chapter III, section I, and by articles 609-b, 609-d, 609-h of the Criminal Code, by article 51, paragraph 3-b of the code of criminal procedure and by art 4-b of this Act, can be served in the offender’s own home or in a public health care centre or attendance centre or housing centre, when the said offender, at the moment of starting the enforcement of his punishment, or after its beginning, is seventy years old, provided that he was not found to be an habitual or professional offender or an offender by propensity and provided that he was never sentenced before in terms of the aggravating circumstance as per art. 99 of the Criminal Code.

1. A sentence of imprisonment not exceeding four years, even when representing the remaining part of a longer sentence, and the sentence of arrest may be served at the offender's own home or in another private home, or in a public health care centre or attendance centre or housing centre, in the following circumstances:

pregnant women or mothers of children under the age of ten who are living with them;
fathers having the parental responsibility for children under the age of ten living with them, where the mother is dead, or completely unable to take care of the children;
persons with particularly serious health conditions, requiring constant care from health facilities outside prisons;
persons over 60 years of age when disabled or partially disabled;
persons under the age of 21 with documented needs in relation to health, study, work, family.

1.1 REPEALED.

1 b – Home Detention may apply to all sentences of imprisonment up to two years, even if this is the remaining part of a longer sentence, regardless of the conditions under para 1 where there are no conditions for granting assignment to the probation service and provided that the measure is appropriate with a view to preventing the sentenced person from committing further offences. This provision shall not be applicable to offences under art. 4-b.

1 c – When the obligatory or non mandatory deferral of the enforcement of the sentence may be ordered, under art. 146 and 147 of the Criminal Code, the supervisory court, even if the sentence exceeds the limit under para 1, may order home detention to be enforced, fixing the length of such home detention; this term may be extended. The enforcement of the sentence shall continue during home detention.

1 d – The request for the application of home detention shall be submitted after the beginning of the enforcement of the sentence, to the supervisory court having jurisdiction over the place of enforcement. In the cases where a serious prejudice derives from the prorogation of detention, the application for home detention under previous paragraphs 01, 1, 1-b and 1-c shall be addressed to the supervisory judge, who may order the provisional enforcement of such measure. The provisions under art. 47, para 4 in as much as they are compatible shall be applied.

2. REPEALED

3. REPEALED

4. When ordering Home detention, the Supervisory Court shall lay down the relevant modalities, in accordance with art. 284 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Court shall also lay down the appropriate provisions for the intervention of the probation Service; such regulations and provisions may be modified by the supervisory judge having jurisdiction over the area where the Home detention is being served.

4 b. REPEALED

5. Offenders granted Home detention shall not be subject to the prison regime provided by this Act and by Regulations of Enforcement. The Penitentiary administration shall bear no expense in relation to the maintenance and health care of the persons who are on home detention.

6. Home detention shall be revoked when the behaviour of the subject, is contrary to law or to the regulations imposed, and appears incompatible with the continuation of home detention.

7. Home detention shall also be revoked when the conditions under para 1 and 1b cease.

8. When sentenced persons benefiting from Home detention in their own home or in any other place indicated in para 1 leave that place, they shall be punished in terms of art. 385 of the Criminal Code. The provision in the last paragraph of the same article shall apply.

9. The conviction for the crime indicated in para 8 shall imply the revocation of home detention, except when the event is a minor offence.

9-b. Where the measure in terms of para 1b is revoked, according to the preceding paragraphs, the remaining part of the sentence cannot be substituted by any other measure.

47-d. Measures alternative to imprisonment for persons suffering from full blown aids or persons suffering from serious immunodeficiency

1. The measures under articles 47 and 47 c may also be applied beyond the sentence limits provided therein on the basis of a request from the person concerned or from his own defence counsel in relation to persons suffering from full blown AIDS or persons suffering from serious immunodeficiency, assessed pursuant to article 286 b, para 2, of the Code of Criminal Procedure, who are undergoing or are willing to undergo a medical and health assistance programme in a hospital or in a university centre for infectious diseases or in care units mainly providing assistance to people with AIDS, in accordance with the regional plans.

2. The request in pursuance of para 1 shall be accompanied by a certificate from the prison health service, proving the existence of the health conditions indicated therein and the feasibility of the medical and assistance programme, being current or to be carried out, in a hospital or in a university centre for infectious diseases or in care units mainly providing assistance to people with AIDS, in accordance with the regional plans.

3. The obligations and conditions to be imposed in relation to the enforcement of the alternative measure shall include the procedures to carry out the said programme.

4. When enforcing home detention, the Probation Service Centres [2]; shall supervise and assist the carrying out of the programme.

5. In the cases referred to in para 1, the judge may not grant the alternative measure if the person concerned has already enjoyed a similar measure and this has been revoked in the previous year.

6. The Judge may revoke the alternative measure disposed by the terms of para 1 if the offender is on remand or subject to a pre-cautionay measure for one of the crimes under article 380 of the Criminal Procedure Code, in connection with offences committed after the granting of the measure.

7. The Judge, where not applying or revoking the alternative measure for one of the reasons under paras 5 and 6, orders the offender to be detained in a penal institution suitably and adequately equipped for his care and assistance.

8. For anything not otherwise established by the present article, the provisions under the article 47–c shall be applied.

9. For the purpose of the present article, prohibition to grant the benefits provided for by article 4-b, taking for granted the assessments under paras 2, 2-b and 3 of the same article, shall not be applied.

10. The provisions of the present article shall also be applied to internees.

47-e. Particular Home detention

1. When the requirements in terms of art. 47-c are not met, female convicts who are mothers of children under the age of ten may be allowed to serve their sentence at their own home or in another private home, or in a public health care centre or attendance or housing centre, in order to take care of their children and to assist them, after having served at least one third of their sentence or after having served at least fifteen years of imprisonment when a life sentence has been imposed, according to the modalities set in paragraph 1-b.

1-b. Except for mothers convicted for the crimes indicated at article 4-b, imprisoned mothers can serve one third of their sentence or at least fifteen years in one low-security penal establishment for imprisoned mothers or, if there is no concrete danger of perpetrating further crimes or of escape, in another private home, or in a public health care centre or attendance or housing centre, in order for them to take care and to assist their children. When it is impossible to serve their sentence in their house or in another private home, that sentence can be served in protected housing structures, where they exist.

2. The Penitentiary administration shall bear no expense in relation to the maintenance, assistance and health care of women who are granted particular home detention.

3. When ordering particular Home detention, the Supervisory Court shall lay down the appropriate modalities of execution in accordance with art. 284, para 2, of the code of criminal procedure, shall establish the period of time the woman can spend away from her domicile, shall set the provisions as to the intervention of the probation service. Those provisions and conditions may be amended by the Supervisory Judge having jurisdiction over the area where the particular home detention is applied. Art. 284, para 4 of the code of criminal procedure is applied.

4. On the woman’s release, a minute shall be drawn up where obligations and prohibitions are laid down to be complied with by the subject in relation to her relations with the probation service.

5. The Probation Service shall supervise the conduct of the subject and shall assist her in overcoming the difficulties of her social reintegration, by establishing contacts with her family and with the environment where she lives; they shall make periodical reports to the Supervisory Judge on the behaviour of the subject.

6. Particular home detention shall be revoked where the offender's behaviour is against the law or contrary provisions, and is deemed incompatible with the continuation of particular home detention.

7. Under the same conditions, particular home detention may be also granted to a father who is in prison, if the children’s mother is dead or completely unable to take care of them and it is not possible to grant the custody of the children to anyone else.

8. When a child reaches the age of ten, upon request of the subject having already been granted particular home detention, the Supervisory court may:

order the extension of the benefit, if the requirements are met for the application of semi-liberty in terms of art. 50, paras 2, 3 and 5;
allow the subject to assist children outside prison in terms of art. 21-b, taking into account the behaviour of the subject concerned during the execution of the particular home detention, deduced from reports issued by the probation service, in terms of para 5, as well as the length of the particular home detention and of the length of the remaining part of the sentence to be served.

47-f. Leaving domicile without justified reasons

1. A convicted woman having been granted particular home detention who leaves her own domicile for no more than 12 hours, with no justified reason, may be subject to the revocation of the particular home detention.

2. If her absence exceeds 12 hours, the convicted woman shall be punished in terms of art. 385, para 1, of the Criminal code and the provision of the last paragraph of the same article can be applied.

3. Her conviction for the crime of escape shall imply the revocation of the particular home detention.

4. The provisions of this article shall also apply to a father who is in prison, if he has been granted home detention in terms of art 47-e, para 7.

48. Semi-liberty

1. The regime of semi-liberty consists of allowing a sentenced person and an internee to spend part of their day outside prison for purposes of work, education, or participation in other activities useful for their social reintegration.

2. The beneficiaries of such a regime are assigned to special establishments or to separate units in ordinary prisons. They may wear ordinary clothes.

3. [Semi-liberty may not be granted under the provisions of article 47, para 2] repealed

49. Mandatory granting of Semi-liberty
[REPEALED]

50. Granting of Semi-liberty

1. Sentences of arrest and of imprisonment not exceeding six months may be served under the regime of Semi-liberty, when the sentenced person is not to be assigned to the Probation Service.

2. Except for those cases contemplated in para 1, a sentenced person may be granted Semi-liberty only after having served at least half of his sentence, or two thirds of it when convicted for any of the crimes indicated in art. 4-b, paragraphs 1, 1-c and 1-d. An internee may be granted semi-liberty at any time. However, in those cases provided for by art. 47, when the requirements to grant assignment to the probation service are lacking, the person convicted of any crime except those indicated in art. 4-b, para 1, may be granted semi-liberty even before he has served half of his sentence.

3. When calculating the length of sentences, the financial penalties imposed in conjunction with the period of detention shall not be considered.

4. Admission to the regime of “Semi-liberty” shall be decided in relation to the progress made in the course of treatment, when the conditions for gradual social reintegration of the prisoner exist.

5. Persons sentenced to life imprisonment may be granted Semi-liberty only after having served 20 years imprisonment.

6. In the cases under para 1, Semi-liberty may also be granted after the beginning of the enforcement of the sentence, when the sentenced person has shown his determination toward social reintegration; in such cases, the provisions in art. 47, para 4 apply.

7. When Semi-liberty is to be granted to a mother of children under the age of three, the mother shall be entitled to make use of “Semi-liberty houses” in terms of the last paragraph of art. 92, Presidential Decree no. 431 of 29 April 1976

50-b. Granting of Semi-liberty to recidivists
REPEALED

51. Suspension and revocation of Semi-liberty

1. The order granting Semi-liberty may be revoked at any time when the subject does not seem suitable to the treatment.

2. The subject who remains unjustifiedly absent from the establishment for no more than 12 hours, shall undergo disciplinary sanctions and the revocation of the measure of semi-liberty may be proposed.

3. When the person granted semi-liberty remains absent for more than 12 hours, he shall be punishable under art. 385, para 1, of the criminal code; the provision under the last section of the same article may be applied.

4. A report of the crime under the above paragraph shall cause suspension of the measure, and the relevant conviction shall cause revocation.

5. For an internee who has been granted semi-liberty who remains unjustifiedly absent from the establishment for more than 3 hours, the provisions under the last paragraph of art. 53 shall apply.

51-b. Issue of new orders for deprivation of liberty

1. When during the implementation of Assignment to the Probation Service, or Home detention, or Particular Home Detention or Semi-liberty a new imprisonment order is issued, the Public Prosecutor shall immediately inform the Supervisory Judge, making at the same time his request. If the latter, taking into account the aggregation of the sentences, finds that the conditions indicated in art. 47 para 1, in art. 47-c , para 1 and 1 b, or in art. 47-e, para 1 and 2, or in art. 50, paras 1-3 persist, shall issue a decree for the continuation of the measure in force; otherwise he shall order its suspension.

2. Against the provision under paragraph 1 an appeal can be lodged in terms of article 69-b.

51- c. Precautionary suspension of a Community Measure

1. When the behaviour of a person benefiting from Assignment to the Probation Service, Semi-liberty, or Home detention is such that revocation of the measure must be considered, the Supervisory Judge having jurisdiction over the area where the measure is implemented shall issue a motivated decree for the temporary suspension of the measure, ordering the transgressor to be taken into prison. The former shall then transmit the proceedings to the Supervisory Court to make its decision. The suspension order issued by the Supervisory Judge shall cease to have effect where the Supervisory Court’s decision does not occur within 30 days of receiving the proceedings.

52. Home leave for persons benefiting from “Semi-liberty”

1. The sentenced person benefiting from the regime of “Semi-liberty” may be granted, as a bonus, one or more periods of Home leave of no more than 45 days a year in total.

2. During Home leave, the beneficiary shall be subjected to supervised liberty.

3. Should the beneficiary infringe the obligations imposed upon him, Home leave may be revoked regardless of the revocation of Semi-liberty.

4. The provisions contained in the previous article shall also apply to the convicted person who does not return to prison at the end or after revocation of Home leave.

53. Home leave for internees

1. Internees may be granted a six months Home leave in the period immediately preceding the date set for the review of their dangerousness.

2. Such persons may also be granted Home leave of no longer than 15 days for serious personal or family needs; moreover, once a year they may be granted Home leave of no longer than 30 days, for the purpose of aiding their social re-adjustment.

3. Internees benefiting from the regime of Semi-liberty regime may also be granted, as a bonus, Home leave provided for under para 1 of the previous article.

4. During Home leave, the beneficiary shall be subject to supervised liberty.

5. Should an internee during home leave infringe the obligations imposed upon him, Home leave may be revoked regardless of the revocation of Semi-liberty.

6. An internee who returns to the establishment 3 hours after the end of Home leave without a justifiable reason shall undergo disciplinary sanctions and, if benefiting from Semi-liberty, may be subjected to revocation of the measure.

53-b. Calculation of the duration of Home or Bonus leave

1. The time spent by prisoners and internees enjoying Home or Bonus leave shall be regarded and calculated as part of the measures restricting their liberty, except in cases of non-return or of serious misbehaviour which does not deserve the benefit. In such cases the supervisory judge shall decide by a motivated provision as to the exclusion of these periods from the calculation.

2. The person concerned may make a complaint against the provision to the supervisory court according to the procedure in art. 14-c. The judge issuing the order shall not participate in the board.

54. Early Release

1. Persons sentenced to imprisonment who have shown effective participation in the re-educational process may be granted, as a recognition of such participation and for the purpose of more effective re-inclusion into the community, a forty-five-day reduction of their sentence in respect of every six months actually served. For this purpose, the period also spent in pre-trial custody or Home detention shall be taken into account.

2. The granting of early release shall be communicated to the prosecutor’s office at the Court of Appeal or to the Court which issued the order of enforcement, or to the Lower Magistrates’ Court, if he issued the order.

3. Conviction for an intentional offence committed during the enforcement of the sentence but after the benefit has been granted shall imply revocation of the benefit.

4. In order to calculate the amount of a sentence which must be served in order to be entitled to the benefit of bonus leave, of semi-liberty and of conditional release, the part of sentence deducted in terms of para 1 shall be considered served. This provision shall also apply to those sentenced to life imprisonment.

Temporary provisions concerning “Particular Early Release” set forth by article 4 of the Law by Decree nr 146 of 23rd December 2013 (valid until 24th December 2015)[3]

55. Actions of the Probation Service in relation to “supervised liberty”

1. In accordance with the provisions of art. 228 of the Criminal Code, the Probation Service shall provide support and assistance to those subject to “Supervised liberty”, in order to aid their social re-inclusion.

56. Release of debt
Article repealed by article 6 of the DPR nr. 115 dated 30th May 2002. The release of debt is now regulated by the same article. [4]

57. Eligibility to apply for benefits

1. The application for the granting of treatment and benefits under articles 47, 50, 52, 53, 54 may be made by the convicted person, by the internee and by their next of kin or proposed by the discipline council.

58. Communications to the public security authority

1. The provisions in terms of this chapter and adopted by the Supervisory Judge or by the Supervisory Judges Panel shall be communicated immediately by the court clerk’s office to the provincial public security authority.

58-b. Registration in the Judicial Records Register
[1. The decisions of the Supervisory Judges Panel relevant to the granting and revocation of community measures shall be registered in the Judicial Records Register.] repealed

58-c. Persons collaborating with the “System of Justice”

1. The provisions of art. 21 para 1, of art. 30-c para 4, and of art. 50 para 2, concerning persons sentenced for any of the crimes under art. 4-b, shall not be applied to those who, even after being sentenced, have undertaken action in order to prevent the criminal activity from causing further consequences, or who have effectively assisted the police or judicial authority in the collection of evidence decisive in the reconstruction of the facts and in identifying or capturing the perpetrators of the crimes.

2. The behaviour described in para 1 shall be ascertained by the Supervisory Court, after gathering all the necessary information and having heard the Prosecutor competent to try the offence in relation to which the collaboration has been provided.

58-d. Prohibition of granting benefits

1. The benefits of work outside prisons, bonus leave, assignment to the Probation Service under art. 47, home detention, and semi-liberty, cannot be granted to persons having been found punishable under art.385 of the Criminal Code.

2. The provisions of para 1 shall also apply to sentenced persons subject to the revocation of a community measure under art. 47 para 11, art. 47-c para 6, or art. 51 para 1.

3. The prohibition of granting benefits shall last for a period of three years from the resumption of detention, or from the revocation order under para 2.

4. Persons sentenced for crimes in terms of art. 289-b and 630 of the Criminal code, who have caused the death of the kidnapped person, shall not be granted any of the benefits in terms of art. 4-b, para 1, until they have served at least two thirds of their sentence, or at least 26 years in case of a life sentence.

5. Further to what is provided for by para 1 and 3, the assignment to work outside prison, bonus leave and community measures provided for in chapter VI shall not be granted, or shall be revoked (when already granted) to persons sentenced for any of the crimes in terms of art. 4-b, para 1, in relation to whom proceedings are taken, or who are sentenced for a culpable crime punishable with a period of imprisonment of no less than a maximum of three years, if this crime is punishable in terms of art. 385 of the Criminal Code or if they commit it during work outside prison or while enjoying bonus leave or a community measure.

6. For the purpose of applying the provisions under para 5, the Authority proceeding in relation to the new crime shall inform the Supervisory Judge of the place where the person was last imprisoned.

7. The prohibition of granting benefits under para 5 shall last 5 years from the resumption of detention, or from the revocation order.

7-b. Assignment to the probation service in the cases provided for by art. 47, home detention and semi-liberty cannot be granted more than once to the sentenced person to whom the recidivism provided for by art 99, para four of the Criminal Code was applied.

58-e. Particular modalities of surveillance during the enforcement of home detention

1. While ordering home detention, the supervisory judge or the supervisory court may order surveillance procedures through electronic tools or other technical tools, complying with the functioning and operational characteristics of the devices currently available to law enforcement agencies. Similar provisions can be ordered during the enforcement of the measure. As far as compatible, provisions under article 275-b of the Code of criminal procedure shall apply.

ITEM II

PROVISIONS RELEVANT TO THE ORGANISATION OF PRISONS

CHAPTER I
PENAL INSTITUTIONS

59. Institutions for adults

1. Institutions for adults belonging to the Penitentiary administration are of four types: 1) remand institutions; 2) institutions for the enforcement of sentences; 3) institutions for the enforcement of “security measures”; 4) observation centres.

60. Remand institutions

1. Institutions for pre-trial detention are subdivided into two different types: “case mandamentali” and “case circondariali”.

2. “Case mandamentali” ensure the custody of accused persons at the disposal of the Lower Court Magistrate. They are situated in the main towns of districts where there are no “case circondariali”.

3. “Case circondariali” ensure the custody of accused persons at the disposal of every judicial authority. They are situated in the main town of the administrative districts.

4. “Case circondariali” and “case mandamentali” also ensure the custody of persons arrested or detained by public security authorities or by criminal police bodies, and of prisoners and internees who are in the process of being transferred.

5. A single “casa circondariale” or “casa mandamentale” can be established to serve more than one district.

61. Institutions for the enforcement of sentences

1. Institutions for the enforcement of sentences are subdivided into:

“Arrest Prisons”, for the enforcement of sentences of arrest. Arrest wings may be established at “case mandamentali” or “case circondariali”;
Prisons for the enforcement of sentences of imprisonment. Sections for the enforcement of the sentences of imprisonment may be established at “case circondariali”.

2. For particular needs, within the limits and accordingly to the procedures set by the regulations, persons sentenced to arrest or to imprisonment may be assigned to “case circondariali” and “case mandamentali”; moreover, those sentenced to imprisonment may be assigned to “arrest prisons”.

62. Institutions for the enforcement of “security detention measures”

1. Institutions for the enforcement of “security detention measures” are subdivided into: penal farms, penal labour colonies; prison hospitals; judicial psychiatric hospitals.
2. The security detention measures provided for by nos. 1, 2, 3 of the first paragraph of art. 215 of the Criminal Code shall be respectively enforced in the said establishments.
3. Special units may be established as follows:

units for the enforcement of the ‘penal farm’ security measure at penal labour colonies and vice-versa;
units for the enforcement of the ‘prison hospital’ security measure at judicial psychiatric hospitals, and vice-versa;
units for the enforcement of the ‘penal farm’ and of the ‘penal labour colony’ security measures in Prisons for the enforcement of sentences of imprisonment.

63. Observation Centres

1. Observation Centres may be established as independent establishments or as units within other institutions.

2. Observation Centres shall directly carry out the observation activities indicated in art. 13; moreover, they shall provide advice for the equivalent observation activities carried out in prisons.

3. The observation findings shall be included in the prisoner’s personal file.

4. On request by the judicial authority, persons undergoing criminal proceedings may be assigned to the Centres for the compilation of a forensic medicine expert report.

5. Observation Centres shall also carry out scientific research activities

64. Differentiation between institutions for the enforcement of sentences and for the enforcement of security measures

1. Each institution shall be organised with different characteristics in relation to the judicial status of prisoners and internees and to their individual or group treatment needs.

65. Institutions for infirm and disabled persons

1. Persons affected by physical or mental infirmities or disabilities shall be assigned to special institutions or units for appropriate treatment.

2. Persons whose conditions do not allow for the ordinary prison regime shall be assigned to such special institutions or units.

66. Setting up, conversion and abolition of institutions

1. The setting up, conversion and abolition of penal institutions and of their units shall be ordered by ministerial decree.

67. Visits to institutions

1. Penal institutions may be visited, without authorisation, by:

the President of the Council of Ministers and the President of the Constitutional Court;
Ministers, Judges of the Constitutional Court, the Under-secretaries of State, members of Parliament and members of the “Superior Council of the Judiciary”;
the President of the Court of Appeal, the Prosecutor General attached to the Court of Appeal, the President of the “Court” and the Public Prosecutor attached to the “Court”, the Lower Court Magistrate, Supervisory Judges, within their jurisdictions; any other Judge in the exercise of his duties;
the members of the “Regional Council” and the Government Commissioner for the “Region”, within their district;
the Bishop, for the exercise of his ministry;
the Province’s “Governor” and the Head of Police Administration; the “local physician”;
the Director General of the Penitentiary administration and the Judges and officials delegated by him;
the Senior Inspectors of the Penitentiary administration;
the Chaplains Inspector;
High ranking Officers of the Penitentiary Police Corps;

the prisoners’ ombudspersons, no matter how they are named.
the members of the European Parliament.

2. Also no authorisation shall be necessary for those accompanying the above listed persons for reasons of duty or for the personnel indicated in art. 18-b.

3. Officers of the criminal Investigation Department and policemen may enter the establishments, for reasons of duty, subject to authorisation by the judicial authority.

4. Ministers of the catholic religion and of other religions may enter the establishments, subject to authorisation.

Article 67-b
Visits to cells situated in Police establishments

1. The provisions set in article 67 also apply to cells situated in establishments of law enforcement agencies.

CHAPTER II
SUPERVISORY JUDGES

68. Supervisory Offices

1. Supervisory Offices shall be attached to the offices set forth in Table A attached to the present Act and shall have jurisdiction over the territorial districts of the courts listed in the same table.

2. Members of the judiciary of the Court of Cassation, the Court of Appeal, and the “Tribunali”, and personnel from the lists of the clerk’s offices of the courts, prosecutor’s offices and operational and junior staff, shall be assigned to the said Offices for the exercise of the functions listed respectively in articles 69, 70 and 70-b.

3. By decree of the President of the Court of Appeal, a member of the Judiciary holding the rank of Judge of the court of Cassation, the Court of Appeal or the “Tribunale”, may be temporarily assigned to exercise the functions of Supervisory Judge when the latter is absent or has an impediment.

4. Members of the judiciary exercising supervisory functions shall not be assigned other judicial functions. They may also avail themselves of voluntary assistants, with tasks of mere support while performing their functions, who will be selected on the basis of the criteria set by article 78. The voluntary assistants’ activity cannot be remunerated.

69. Functions and provisions of a Supervisory Judge

1. A Supervisory Judge shall supervise the organisation of penal institutions and shall report the needs of the various services to the Minister, particularly with regard to the implementation of the rehabilitation treatment.

2. Moreover, he shall check that accused persons are detained in conformity with laws and regulations.

3. He shall supervise the enforcement of “personal security measures”.

4. He shall review the dangerousness in accordance with para 1 and 2, art. 208 of the Criminal Code, and shall consider the application, enforcement, change or revocation, even in advance, of security measures. Moreover, in the above cases, he shall also provide by motivated decree for the revocation, if any, of the statement deeming that the person concerned is a habitual, professional criminal or that he has a criminal tendency under art. 102, 103, 104, 105 and 108 of the Criminal Code.

5. He shall approve the treatment programme provided for in para 3, art. 13, by decree, or shall return it with observations, so that it is drawn up again, if he sees that it violates the rights of convicted prisoners and internees. He shall approve, by decree, the measure which allows a prisoner to work outside the prison. Besides, he shall give directions aimed at avoiding violations of the rights of convicted prisoners and internees.

6. He shall make decisions, pursuant to art. 35-b, on the complaints of prisoners and internees concerning:

the conditions for exercising the disciplinary power, the establishment and competence of the disciplinary body, the charging of violations, and the defence; in the cases provided for by article 39, paragraphs 1, numbers 4 and 5, he shall assess also the merits of the adopted provisions;
the non compliance, by the administration, with the provisions set forth by this Act and the relevant regulations of enforcement, which give rise to a current and serious prejudice for the exercise of prisoners’ or internees’ rights.

7. He shall make decisions, by motivated decree, about: bonus leaves, home leaves for prisoners in semi-liberty and internees, and changes relevant to Assignment to the Probation Service and to Home Detention.

8. He shall see, by order, to the reduction of the sentence for early release and to the release of debt as well as to the hospitalisations under art. 148 of the Criminal Code.

9. He shall issue his motivated opinions on proposals and petitions for pardon concerning prisoners.

10. Moreover, he shall perform all the tasks assigned to him by law.

69-b. Proceedings in matter of early release

1. The supervisory judge shall see to the application for the granting of early release, by order adopted in chambers without the parties; such order shall be communicated or notified without delay to the persons mentioned in article 127 of the code of penal procedure.

2. The supervisory judge shall make a decision after fifteen days from the date of the request of opinion to the public prosecutor and also without such opinion.

3. The defence counsel, the person concerned and the public prosecutor, within ten days from the communication or notification, may make a complaint against the order under paragraph 1 to the competent supervisory court.

4. The supervisory court shall make a decision in terms of article 678 of the code of penal procedure. The provisions of paragraphs 5 and 6 of article 30-b shall apply.

5. The supervisory court, where an application for the granting of early release has been submitted, during the proceedings under article 70, paragraph 1, may transmit it to the supervisory judge.

70. Functions and provisions of the Supervisory Court

1. There is a Supervisory Court in every Appeal Court district and in every territorial district of a detached Appeal Court. Supervisory Courts hold jurisdiction over: Assignment to the Probation Service, Home Detention, Particular Home Detention, Semi-liberty, Conditional Release, revocation or discontinuance of the above benefits as well as of the reduction of sentence for early release, mandatory or discretionary deferral of the enforcement of sentences of imprisonment under arts. 146-147, nos. 2) and 3) of the Criminal Code. The Courts hold jurisdiction for all the other provisions empowered to them by law.

2. The Supervisory Court setting as a Court of Appeal shall make decisions on the appeals lodged against provisions under art. 69, para 4. The Judge who issued the provision cannot be a member of the appeal panel of judges

3. Each Court is made up of all the Supervisory Judges posted in its district or in the territorial district of detached divisions of Appeal Court, and experts chosen from the categories indicated in art. 80, para 4, and professors of criminology.

4. An adequate number of permanent and substitute experts shall be appointed by the Superior Council of the Judiciary, to meet the needs of the office, in every “Tribunale” for renewable three-year terms.

5. The decisions of the Supervisory Court shall be adopted by a panel made up of: the president or, if he is absent or has an impediment, the Supervisory Judge ranking next in line in terms of judicial functions or, if they exercise the same functions, in terms of seniority; a Supervisory Judge; and two of the experts provided for in para 4.

6. One of the two ordinary Judges has to be the Supervisory Judge having jurisdiction over the convicted person or over the internee concerned.

7. The members of the panels of judges shall be established every year pursuant to the provisions of the legal system.

8. The Court shall make decisions, by order, in Chambers. When there is an equal number of votes, the President’s vote shall prevail.

9. REPEALED

70-b. The president of the Supervisory Court

1. The functions of president of Supervisory Courts shall be assigned to a Judge holding the rank of judge of Court of Cassation while Supervisory Courts attached to detached Court of Appeal divisions, to a Judge holding the rank of Appeal judge.

2. Beside carrying out the Supervisory Judge functions in Office, the president of the Court shall:

run and organise the Supervisory Court’s activity;
organise, in compliance with the workload of the Court, the activities of the Supervisory Offices falling within the jurisdiction of the Court itself;
post the Judges and personnel to the various Supervisory Offices in case of absence, impediment, or urgent requirements of the office;
request the President of the Court of Appeal to issue of the provisions under art. 68, para 3;
make proposals to the Superior Council of the Judiciary the appointment of permanent and substitute experts, and prepare the tables of the fees that are due;
carry out all other activities prescribed by laws and regulations.

70-c. New names

1. The names of “Supervisory Divisions” and “Supervisory Magistrate” provided for in existing laws shall be respectively replaced with “Supervisory Court” and “Supervisory Judge”.

2. The operation of both the Supervisory Court and the Supervisory Offices provided for in art. 68, shall be ensured by directly allocating funds and equipment from the special Items of the Budget of the Ministry of Justice.

CHAPTER II b
SUPERVISORY PROCEEDINGS

71. General provisions

1. The proceedings provided for in the following paragraphs and articles shall apply in respect of the adoption of the provisions falling within the competence of the supervisory court explicitly set out in Article 70, paragraphs 1 and 2, the provisions of the supervisory judge in the matter of the release of debt, the hospitalisation under article 148 of the penal code, the application, enforcement, change or revocation even in advance of the security measures and the measures concerning the verification of the identity for the purposes of the above measures.

2. The president of the court or the supervisory judge, further to a request or a suggestion or ex-officio, shall invite the person concerned to exercise his authority to appoint a defence counsel. If the person concerned does not do so within five days from the notice of the invitation, the defence counsel shall be appointed by the president of the court or the supervisory judge. Subsequently, the president of the court or the supervisory judge shall set, by decree, the date of the hearing and shall notify it to the public prosecutor, the person concerned and the defence counsel, at least five days before the set date.

3. The competence thereof shall rest with the court or the supervisory judge having jurisdiction over the prison where the person concerned is held at the time of the request or the suggestion, or at the start ex-officio of the proceedings.

4. If the person concerned is not imprisoned or interned, the competence shall rest with the court or to the supervisory judge having jurisdiction over the place where the person concerned has his residence or domicile. If it is not possible to determine the competence as established above, the provision under Article 635, para 2 of the code of criminal procedure shall apply.

5. The provisions under Chapter I, Title V, Book IV of the code of criminal procedure (art. 633 et seq.) can be applied as this law does not provide for differently. Article 641 of the code of criminal procedure shall only apply to the cases under Article 212 of the code of criminal procedure.[5]

71b. Hearing

1. The defence counsel and a representative of the Public Prosecutor’s office shall be present at the hearing. The person concerned may also attend and submit defence briefs.

2. The office of public prosecutor shall be carried out, before the supervisory court by the Prosecutor General at the Court of Appeal and, before the supervisory judge, by the Prosecutor of the “Tribunale” where the supervisory court is attached.

3. The provisions of the supervisory court and the supervisory judge shall be issued on the basis of the documents acquired at the hearing concerning the observation and treatment of the person concerned; the relevant inquiries, if any; the advice of the experts in charge of the treatment.

4. The order concluding the supervisory proceeding shall be notified to the public prosecutor, the person concerned and the defence counsel within ten days from the date of the decision.

71c. Appeal to the Court of Cassation

1. The public prosecutor, the concerned person and, in the cases provided for by Articles 14-ter and 69, para 6, the penitentiary administration may lodge an appeal with the Court of Cassation against the orders of the supervisory court and the supervisory judge for breach of law, within ten days from the notification of the provision. The provisions under par. 3 of art. 640 of the code of criminal procedure shall apply. The last paragraph of art. 631 of the code of criminal procedure shall also apply.[6]

71.d Notifications

1. Notifications to the person concerned of the notices and the provisions provided for by the preceding articles shall be made under art. 645 of the code of criminal procedure.

71. e Revocation [7]
(Omitted) .

71. f Inadmissibility

1. Should the application for the adoption of the provisions under Art. 71, paragraph 1 clearly appear ungrounded for lack of the conditions provided by the law, or should it simply be a new submission of an already rejected application, grounded on the same elements, the president, having heard the public prosecutor, shall issue a motivated order by which he declares the application inadmissible and order that no supervisory proceedings shall take place.

2. The order shall be notified within five days to the person concerned, who can lodge an appeal within five days from the date of the notice, requesting that it be considered by the court.

3. When an appeal is lodged, the president of the court shall institute the supervisory proceedings.

CHAPTER III
EXECUTION OF SENTENCES IN THE COMMUNITY AND ASSISTANCE

72. Offices for the Execution of sentences in the Community

1. The local offices for the execution of sentences in the community come under the authority of the Ministry of Justice, and their organisation shall be governed by regulations adopted by the Minister in terms of article 17, para 3, of the law nr. 400 of 23rd August 1988, and following modifications.

2. The offices:

upon request of the judicial authority shall carry out useful inquiries to provide data necessary for the enforcement, the modification, the prorogation and the revocation of “security measures”;
carry out social and family inquiries for the enforcement of community measures to convicted offenders;
propose to the judicial authority the treatment programme to be provided to prisoners applying to be assigned to the probation service and to be granted home detention;
supervise the enforcement of the programmes by the persons granted community measures, they report about that to the judicial authorities, proposing possible interventions of modification or revocation;
upon request of the prison governors, they give their advice in order to favour the success of the penitentiary treatment;
carry out any other activity provided for by the law and by the regulations.

73. Relief Fund to assist the Victims of Crime

1. Attached to the General Directorate of the Penitentiary Administration, the Relief Fund to assist the Victims of Crime shall be established.

2. The Fund, having legal status, shall be administered by the rules and regulations of public accountancy and may be legally represented by the “Avvocatura dello Stato”.

3. In relation to the budget, the management and the service of the Fund, the rules under article 4 of Law no. 457 of 9 May 1932 shall apply.

4. The Fund shall be managed by a board consisting of:

the Director General of the Penitentiary Administration as chairman;
a representative of the Treasury;
a representative of the Ministry of the Interior.

5. The secretarial functions shall be performed by the Director of the Office attached to the Directorate General of the penitentiary administration providing assistance.

6. No allowance or remuneration shall be paid to the above board members.

7. The Fund’s property shall consist of sums obtained from the difference between earnings and remuneration according to article 23, in addition to legacies, donations or other contributions.

8. The Fund’s funds shall be used to assist the victims who as a result of the crime are in proven need.

74. Social Assistance Councils

1. A Social Assistance Council shall be established in the main town of every district, chaired by the President of the “Tribunale” or by a Judge delegated by him, and composed of: the President of the Juvenile Court or another Judge delegated by him, a supervisory judge, a representative of the “Region”, a representative of the “Province”, an official from the civil administration of the Interior appointed by the “Prefetto”, the mayor or a delegate, the “local physician”, the Manager of the local Job Centre, a delegate of the Bishop, and the Governors of the district Prisons. Furthermore, six members nominated by the President of the “Tribunale” from among those identified by public and private bodies as qualified in social work shall be included.

2. The social assistance council shall have legal status, shall be supervised by the Ministry of Justice and may be represented by the “Avvocatura dello Stato”

3. The members of the social assistance council shall not be paid for the services they provide.

4. By a decree of the President of the Republic, proposed by the Minister of Justice, several social aid councils may be merged into one body.

5. The expenses necessary to achieve the tasks of the social assistance council in the field of prison assistance and aftercare shall be covered by:

Fines Fund according to art. 4 of the law n. 547 of 9 May 1932;
the annual allocation provided by the law n. 491 of 23 May 1956;
the income from the prison manufacturing activities assigned every year by decree of the Minister of the Treasury on the balance of the Fines Fund at the rate of fifty percent of the total amount;
the ordinary funds from the budget;
the other funds which make up the body’s property.

6. The expenses necessary to achieve the aims of the social assistance council in the field of providing assistance to the victims of crime shall be covered by allocating the fund under the previous article as in addition to funds obtained by way of legacies, donations or other contributions received by the body for this purpose.

7. The regulations shall provide for the internal organisation and the working methods of the social assistance council, which shall make decisions in the presence of at least seven of its members.

75. Activities of the Social Assistance Council for prison assistance and post-prison assistance

1. The role of the Social Assistance Council is:

to see that prisoners who are to be released are granted frequent visits, so as to promote, through adequate counselling and assistance, their reintegration into the community;
to see that all the necessary information is collected, with a view to identifying the real needs of prisoners who are to be released and to study the ways to provide for them, in conformity with their disposition and family conditions;
to gather information on the possibility of employment in the district and to make arrangements also, in consultation with the committee under art. 77, to provide all prisoners employment after release, residing or establishing residence in the same district;
to organise, also in co-operation with public institutions or with private individuals, vocational training courses and working activities for prisoners after release, needed to develop their working skills when they are unlikely to find a job immediately after release; to promote moreover the frequency of those released to normal vocational training courses made available by the “Regions”;
to see that links between prisoners and internees and their families are maintained;
to notify the competent authorities and institutions of the needs of the families of prisoners and internees which render special interventions necessary;
to grant assistance in money or in kind;
to co-operate with the competent authorities in the co-ordination of the assistance activity of the bodies and of the public and private associations and of the persons performing welfare and charitable activity aiming at carrying out the most effective and adequate intervention in favour of released prisoners and of prisoners’ and internees’ families.

76. The activities of the Social Assistance Council for the assistance of the victims of crime

1. The Social Assistance Council shall provide for assistance to victims of crime through financial assistance or assistance in kind, and shall provide for assistance to minors who are orphans as a result of the crime.

77. Committee for the employment of persons assisted by the Social Assistance Council

1. In order to assist in the employment of released prisoners, at each Social Assistance Council, or at the institution under para 4 of art. 74, a committee for the employment of the persons assisted by the Social Assistance Council shall be established.

2. Such Panel, chaired by the President of the Social Assistance Council or by a magistrate delegated by the president himself, shall consist of four representatives respectively from Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and local Handicrafts, designated by the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Handicraft and Agriculture, three employers’ representatives, three workers’ representatives, designated by trade union organisations represented in the largest number at national level, a tenants’ representative, the Director of the Local Employment Office, an executive from the Penitentiary Administration and a social worker from the Probation Service Centre as provided for by the article 72.

3. The President of the Social Assistance Council shall provide for the appointment of the Committee members.

4. The Committee shall take decisions when at least five of its members are present.

78. Voluntary workers

1. Upon the proposal of the supervisory judge, the Penitentiary Administration may authorise persons suitable to provide assistance and education to attend prisons with the aim to participate in order to ensure the moral support of prisoners and internees, and their future reintegration into the community.

2. Voluntary workers may collaborate in the prison’s cultural and recreational activities under the guidance of the governor, who co-ordinates their actions with that of all personnel responsible for treatment.

3. The activity described in the foregoing paragraphs shall not be remunerated.

4. Voluntary workers may collaborate with the probation service centres in relation to the assignment to the probation service, semi-liberty and providing assistance to released prisoners and their families.

CHAPTER IV
FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

79. Young offenders under the age of 18 under criminal measures. The Supervisory Magistracy

1. The provisions of the present Act shall apply to juveniles under the age of 18, subjected to criminal measures, until provisions are made by a specific law.

2. In the case of juveniles referred to in the previous paragraph and of offenders over 18 who were under 18 when the offence was committed, the duties of the Supervisory Court and those of the Supervisory Judge shall be performed by the Juvenile Court and by the Supervisory Judge for juveniles to the Juvenile Court respectively.
3. The last paragraph of the article 68 shall not apply to the Supervisory Judge for juveniles.

80. Staff in the penitentiary administration

1. In each penal institution for adults, educators for adults and social workers from the Probation Service Centres provided for by article 72 shall work, apart from the personnel provided for by the current legislation.

2. The Penitentiary Administration may avail itself, for the performance of treatment and observation activities, of day workers, within the limits to be annually agreed with the Ministry of Treasury.

3. Day workers shall receive the same salary, per working day as the corresponding nominated staff.

4. To perform observation and treatment activities, the penitentiary Administration may avail itself of the professional assistance of experts in psychology, social work, pedagogy, psychiatry and clinical criminology who will receive a fee in proportion to the service provided.

5. The nursing service in penal institutions provided for by article 59 shall be performed by trained workers qualified as nurses.

6. To that end the number of workmen included in the permanent staff of the penitentiary Administration, as per Presidential Decree of March 31. 1971, n°. 275, issued in pursuance of article 17 of law of October 28, 1970, n°. 775, shall be increased by 800 units as regards the positions mentioned above. Said units shall include 640 trained skilled workmen and 160 foremen.

7. The modalities for enrolment of the above staff shall be fixed by the Regulations of Enforcement.

81. Social workers’ tasks

1. Social workers at executive level shall discharge the tasks foreseen by Articles 9, 10 and 11 of Law N°. 1085 dated July 16, 1962, also within the framework of the probation service centres foreseen by Art. 72 of this law.

2. Social workers at clerical staff level shall carry out the activities indicated in Art. 72 of this law within the framework of the probation service centres. They shall ensure supervision of and assistance to persons subjected to alternative measures to detention as well as support and assistance for persons released on supervised liberty; in addition, they shall participate in support and supervision activities to offenders after release from custody.

82. Educators’ tasks

1. Educators shall participate in the group activity aimed at the scientific observation of prisoners and internees and shall also be involved in the individual or group rehabilitating treatment, by connecting their work with that of the staff in charge of rehabilitation activities.

2. They shall also carry out, where permitted, educational activities for accused persons.

3. In addition, they shall co-operate in keeping the library and handing out books, magazines and newspapers.

83. Lists of the permanent staff of probation service and of educators

1. The table of the executive staff of the probation service, annexed to Law 16th July 1962, no. 1085, is substituted by table B annexed to this law.

2. The lists of the permanent clerical staff for the positions of educator for adults and social worker for adults shall be hereby established.

3. The number of staff members under the previous paragraph shall be established respectively by tables C and D annexed to this law.

4. The provisions concerning the status of Civil Servants and, where applicable, those laid down in royal decree of the 30th July 1940, no. 2041, as subsequently amended, shall apply to the staff filling the above-mentioned positions; the said staff shall come directly under the authority of the penitentiary administration and its peripheral bodies.

5. The members of the executive staff of the probation service who, on the 1st July 1970, held the rank of director, shall be exempted, as for their appointment to the position of “primo dirigente” (first level of senior executive’s career), from participation in the training course provided for under articles 22 and 23 of the said decree, upon achieving the seniority level referred to in the 1st paragraph of art. 22 of the Presidential Decree of the 30th June 1972, no. 748.

6. Their appointment shall be made, within the limits of the available places, by Ministerial decree, subject to the favourable opinion of the board of directors, on the grounds of the information reports and of the overall score obtained by the candidates concerned.

84. Competition by special examination to join the permanent clerical staff as social worker for adults

1. Within six months from the entry into force of this law, the Minister of Justice shall announce a competition, by special examination, to access the career of social worker for adults as provided for by the previous article, in order to fill 50% of the total available positions in the permanent staff as above.

2. Within thirty months from the entry into force of this law a public competition shall be announced to access the career of social worker for adults, to fill the remaining 50% of the total available positions in the permanent staff as above. The social workers included in the staff of social workers for minors, following the open competition for the recruitment of 160 social workers, referred to in ministerial decree of 21st June 1971, may also participate in this competition.

3. Only those who, at the date of the entry into force of this law, perform social work activities for a salary at penal institutions and in the possession of a high school diploma plus a professional training certificate issued after a two-or-three years of course in social work activities, may participate in the competition as per the first paragraph, irrespective of the age limits set out in the regulations in force for access to the civil service.

4. The competition shall consist of an oral exam concerning the following subjects:

Theory and practice of the probation service;
Psychology;
Elements of criminal law and procedure;
Regulations for penal institutions

5. The examining commission shall be presided over by the director general of the penitentiary administration, or by his deputy magistrate, and shall consist of the following members:

a magistrate of Court of Appeal attached to the directorate general of the penitentiary administration;
a professor of neuropsychiatry or psychology or criminology or criminal anthropology;
an inspector general of the penitentiary administration;
a teacher of subjects concerning probation service.

6. The functions of secretary shall be carried out by a member of the administrative executive staff of the above-mentioned administration, with a rank not lower than director at the second level of salary (ex coefficient 257).

7. The examination shall be successful when the applicant gets a score of not less than six tenths.

8. The winners of the competition shall be appointed:

to the first salary level for the position of social worker if they have worked uninterruptedly for at least two years, as stated in paragraph 3 of this article;
to the second salary level for the position of social worker if they have worked uninterruptedly for at least four years, as stated in paragraph 3 of this article;
to the third salary level for the position of social worker if they have worked uninterruptedly for at least eight years, as stated in paragraph 3 of this article;

9. As regards those applicants included in either the first or second salary group pursuant to the above paragraphs, the years during which they discharged social work functions uninterruptedly as per paragraph 3 of this article shall be taken into account, where they exceed the two-or four – year threshold referred to above, with a view to inclusion into the immediately higher salary group.

10. Within three months from the date of publication of the appointing decree, the winners of the above competition may apply for redemption of the years they worked as per paragraph three of this article with a view to calculating their pension and severance pay

85. Access to the executive staff in the Probation service

1. In article 5/e of the law n°1085 dated 16th July 1962, the words “set up or authorized according to the law” are repealed.

86. Staff for Supervisory Offices

1. No later than 6 months after the coming into force of this law, the number of judges and staff members mentioned in article 68 shall be established for each Supervisory Office, by Presidential decrees, upon proposal of the Minister of Justice, after consultation with the Minister of Treasury, within the framework of the current permanent staff.

87. Regulations of enforcement

1. No later than 6 months after the coming into force of this law, the regulations of enforcement shall be issued, by Presidential decrees, upon proposal of the Minister of Justice, after consultation with the Minister of Treasury. As regards education in prison, said regulations shall be issued also after consultation with the Minister of Education.

2. Until the issuance of such regulations, the provisions of the current regulations shall be applicable insofar as they are not incompatible with this law.

3. No later than the time-limit under paragraph 1, rules shall be issued governing access to the lists of permanent clerical staff for the positions of educators and social workers for adults.

4. Provisions on the assignment to the Probation service and on semi-liberty shall come into force one year after publication of this law in the Official Journal.

88. Implementation of the provisions concerning permanent staff lists

1. The provisions concerning establishment of the list of permanent staff of the probation service, increase in the executive staff of the Probation service, the establishment of the permanent clerical staff of educators for adults and increase in specialised workers attached to psychiatric hospitals and “prison hospitals” as laid down in this law, shall be enforced within a period of 7 years.

89. Repealed rules

1. Articles 141, 142, 143, 144, 149, and the last paragraph of article 207 of the Criminal Code, article 585 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and all rules incompatible with this law are repealed.

90. Security requirements
(Omissis)

91. Funding

1. The burden resulting from this law, put at 25 billions of Italian lire for financial year 1975, shall be borne by reducing of the same amount the apportionment under Item 6856 of the Budget of the Ministry of Treasury for said financial year.
2. The Minister of the Treasury is hereby authorised to make such changes to the State’s budget as may be required, by issuing the relevant decrees.

TRADUZIONE E AGGIORNAMENTI A CURA DEL DOTT. ANDREA BECCARINI
REVISIONE AGGIORNATA A CURA DELLA DOTT.SSA ALESSANDRA VIVIANO

Appendix

1. Offender
Solely in the interest of brevity, the term “offender” is to be understood as covering both an accused as well as a sentenced person.

2. Gender
In the interest of brevity, this Act makes use of the masculine gender only (for example, “his”, “him”, “he”). The feminine gender is always to be understood in conjunction with the masculine gender.

3. Verb forms
Statements in the Act which refer to essential requirements are formulated using “shall” as verb forms. Conversely, essential prohibitions use these verb forms in the negative.

[1]The text of Article 94 of the DPR dated 9th October 1990, nr. 309 currently into force is the following: (Assignment to the Probation Service in Particular Cases.)
1. A person sentenced to imprisonment who is a drug-addict or an alcoholic may at any time apply for Assignment to the Probation Service in order to continue or to undertake treatment on the basis of a programme agreed upon by the person concerned with the local health authority or with one of the authorised private bodies indicated by art 116. The Assignment to the Probation Service in particular cases can be granted only when the prison sentence to be served, even representing the remaining part of a longer sentence and in conjunction with a fine, is not longer than six years, or than four years if the relevant writ includes one of the crimes indicated by article 4-b of the Penitentiary Act. The relevant application shall include, otherwise it cannot be admitted, a certificate from a public health authority or from a private structure authorised to the diagnosis activity provided for by paragraph 2, letter d) of article 116 stating the state of addiction to drugs or alcohol, the procedure through which the habitual use of drugs or alcohol was ascertained and the course state of the agreed rehabilitation programme as well as its suitability in terms of the rehabilitation of the sentenced person. In order to carry out such treatment at the expense of the National Health Service, the structure involved shall be in possession of the institutional accreditation in terms of article 8-d of the legislative decree nr. 502 of 30th December 1992 and following modifications, and it shall be entered into the agreements provided for by article 8-e of the above-mentioned legislative decree.
2. If the prison order was enforced, the application is submitted to the supervisory judge who, if said application is receivable, if real indications are given concerning the existence of the requirements for the granting of the request and concerning the serious detriment due to the state of imprisonment, where the danger of escape does not subsist on the basis of information gathered, can temporarily grant the alternative measure. The provisions of paragraph 4 shall apply, as far as compatible. Until the decision of the supervisory court, the supervisory judge shall be competent to adopt further provisions as provided for by the Penitentiary Act.
3. In order to make a decision, the Supervisory Court may acquire a copy of the case file and order appropriate inquiries in relation to the suitability of the agreed treatment programme; it must also be ascertained that the addiction to drugs or alcohol and the enforcement of the rehabilitation programme are not prearranged to obtain the benefit. The provisions under articles 92, paragraphs 1 and 3 shall apply.
4. The Supervisory Court grants the request if it deems that the rehabilitation programme contributes, even through the other obligations and prohibitions provided for by article 47, paragraph 5, of the Penitentiary Act, to the offender’s rehabilitation and that said programme ensures the prevention of further re-offending. If the Supervisory Court grants Assignment, the imposed obligations and prohibitions must also include those that determine the methods of implementing the programme. The order must also specify obligations and prohibitions and the forms of surveillance to ascertain that the drug-addict or alcoholic offender immediately starts or continues the rehabilitation programme. The sentence shall be considered enforced from the date of the assignment minutes; nevertheless, if the therapeutic programme is already successfully ongoing at the moment of the decision, the Court can decide a different and more favourable starting date, keeping into account the duration of the restriction to which the person concerned spontaneously underwent as well as his behaviour.
5. REPEALED
6. Unless established in a different manner, the discipline applied shall be laid down by the law nr 354 dated 25th July 1975, as amended by law n. 663 dated 19th June 1986.
6-b. If, during the assignment granted in terms of this article, the person concerned successfully concluded the therapeutic part of his rehabilitation programme, the Supervisory Judge, after having re-drafted the relevant obligations and prohibitions, can order its continuation to the purpose of his social rehabilitation, even if the remaining part of the sentence to be served is longer than the term provided for by art 47 of the Penitentiary Act.
6-c. The person responsible for the structure where the therapeutic and rehabilitation programme are held shall report to the judicial authorities any infringement made by the person undergoing the programme. If those infringements represent a crime, and where they have been omitted, the judicial authority shall communicate it to the competent authorities for the suspension or the revocation of the authorisation provided for by art 116 and of the accreditation provided for by art 117, provided that measures shall be adopted fit to protect the subjects under treatment in that structure.

[2]In terms of article 3, paragraph 2, of the Law nr 154, dated 27 July 2005, the references to the Probation Service Centers for Adults (Centri di Servizio Sociale per Adulti) included in laws and regulations are intended to be made, from the date of enforcement of that law (Official Journal General Series – n. 177 form 1st August 2005), to the Local Offices of Penal Execution in the Community.

[3]Particular Early Release

For a two-year period starting from the date when this Decree enters into force, the reduction of sentence granted through early release provided for by article 54 of the Penitentiary Act shall be of seventy-five days in respect of every six months actually served.
The sentenced prisoners who, starting from 1st January 2010 already benefited from early release, shall benefit also from a further reduction of thirty days per every six months actually served, provided that during the execution of the sentence after the benefit was granted they kept showing effective participation in their rehabilitation process.
The reduction provided for by the previous paragraph shall also apply to the semesters of sentence being served as of 1st January 2010.
Offenders sentenced of any of the crime provided for by article 4-b of the Penitentiary Act can be granted a seventy-five days reduction, in terms of previous paragraphs, only if they have shown, during their detention, a concrete social rehabilitation, which can be inferred from their behaviours revealing their positive evolution.
The provisions of the previous paragraphs do not apply to offenders assigned to the probation service and to offenders under home detention, as for the periods they spent under those alternative measures.

[4]The text of article 6 of the DPR nr. 115 dated 30th May 2002 is the following:
(Release of debt) 1. The debt incurred in relation to the cost of the trial shall be remitted in relation to those persons who have not been imprisoned nor interned, who have financial problems and who had a good behaviour at liberty.
2. The debt incurred in relation to the cost of the trial and maintenance expenses shall be remitted in relation to those persons who have been imprisoned or interned, who have financial problems and who had a good behaviour in prison, in terms of para 8 of art. 30-c of the Penitentiary Act.
3. The application for this measure, with all the relevant documents attached, shall be submitted by the person concerned or by members of his family, or by the disciplinary council, provided for by the Penitentiary Act, to the competent judge, until the procedure for the recovery is finished; the same procedure shall be suspended if it is ongoing.

[5] The reference to art. 641 of the code of criminal procedure dated 1930 shall now be intended to art. 579 of the same code, in terms of art. 208 co-ord. c.p.p.

[6] The reference to art. 640 of the code of criminal procedure dated 1930 shall now be intended to art 680, par. 3 of the code of criminal procedure and the reference to art. 631 of the code of criminal procedure dated 1930 shall now be intended to articles 666, par. 7, and 678, par. 1, code of criminal procedure, in terms of art 208 co-ord. c.p.p.

[7]This article has been cancelled by the art. 27 of the Law of 10th October 1986, n. 663, amending this law.

Ministero della Giustizia

Penitentiary Act

Ministero della Giustizia

Via Arenula, 70 - 00186 Roma

Tel. +39 06 68851 (uffici)