Details
Legal instruments & key provisions
Legal instrument | Key provision |
---|---|
Code of Enforcement of Prison Sentences and Imprisonment Measures (Lei 115/2009 que aprova o Código da Execução das Penas e Medidas Privativas da Liberdade) | Prisoners are entitled to be outdoors for a minimum period of two hours a day. Prisoners in open regime may be outside their cells, in the prison common areas, until closing time. Sports and other recreational and educational facilities are available to prisoners. |
General Regulation of Detention Facilities (Decreto-Lei n.º 51/2011, que aprova o Regulamento Geral dos Estabelecimentos Prisionais) | It is up to the director of the prison establishment to establish the time per day/week that prisoners may spend outside their cells. |
Code on the Enforcement of Custodial Sentences and Measures (Lei n.º 115/2009, que aprova o Código da Execução das Penas e Medidas Privativas da Liberdade) | Activities shall be organised in such a way as to ensure that detainee have leisure and rest time, and detainees may organise their own leisure time, while respecting the discipline, order, and security of the establishment. Detainees have the right to participate in work, education, training, religious, socio-cultural, civic and sporting activities and programmes aimed at addressing specific problems. |
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS
Year | Recommendation | Report |
---|---|---|
2017 | The NPM's report regards the conditions of an educational centre for young people with measures involving deprivation of liberty. The NPM's recommendation states that a library should exist in the educational centre as well as programmes aiming at the promotion of school success. | Report details |
2020 | The NPM's report highlights the shortage of staff and the lack of occupational activities for detainees, especially in establishments with higher occupancy rates: “there is a clear lack of opportunities, with demand far outstripping supply. Not infrequently the rate of professional occupation is less than 30%. | Report details |
2022 | Directorates have encountered challenges in organizing classes with the minimum required number of trainees, which affects vocational training. In establishments where remand detainees or those serving short-term sentences are predominant, the lack of vocational training opportunities was attributed to detainees' inability to complete the courses, prompting the NPM to recommend strengthening the provision of short-term training units to address this issue. Additionally, the NPM has emphasized the frequent lack of spaces for socio-cultural and sports activities, despite consistently highlighting the necessity for such areas. Moreover, besides the shortage of space for sports activities in some establishments, the NPM has observed the absence of partial coverings for the patios in others, preventing their use regardless of weather conditions. | Report details |