Country

Portugal

Detention issue

FRA research findings

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Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
Educational Guardianship Law 1999 (Lei n.º 166/99 que aprova a Lei Tutelar Educativa)The law rules upon practical measures to be applied to children aged between 12 and 16 who have been charged with committing crimes. The law provides for different measures including confinement in educational centres for young boys or for young girls. The measure of internment in an educational centre is applied according to one of the following regimes: open regime; semi-open regime; closed regime. The measure may continue until the young detainee reaches the age of 21, when it ceases to apply.
ode 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)Custodial establishments may consist of one or several units, differentiated according to several factors, including age. Without prejudice to these distinctions, there must be establishments or units within the establishments especially designed for detainees up to the age of 21 or, where it is beneficial to the individual, up to the age of 25.

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report
2016The NPM report included the following recommendations regarding juvenile educational centres: That the (re)opening of an educational centre exclusively for young women is considered. That two of the main innovations introduced by the changing of the Educational Guardianship Law are concretised, i.e. the ‘intensive supervision period’ and the post-detention follow-up. That the reinstatement of the special career of social reintegration worker into our legal framework is considered. Report details
2020The NPM's report mentions that, in most establishments, there is no real separation between adult and child detainees. Report details
2022Regarding the juvenile detention centres, the NPM observed that efforts were made to address previously identified insufficiencies in the facilities. However, there were still unresolved issues related to preserving or renovating infrastructure, particularly regarding accessibility for individuals with reduced mobility, the need for waterproofing or heating in residential units, access to the internet, and safety precautions when using sports equipment. Notably, only half of the centres have implemented video-surveillance systems. Report details