Country

Italy

Detention issue

Juvenile prisoners

FRA research findings

View details

Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
Criminal Code (Codice penale)A person can be charged with a criminal offence if, at the moment of the perpetration of such offence, they are at least 14 years old and are deemed to be mentally fit to stand trial.
Decree of the President of the Italian Republic No. 448 (Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica 22 settembre 1988, n.448, Approvazione delle disposizioni sul processo penale a carico di imputati minorenni)Children are not detained with adults but in specific detention facilities. They also stand trial in the framework of a specific juvenile justice system. Detention shall be considered as a last-resort measure, whereas alternative measures shall be preferred whenever their application is possible.
Legislative Decree No. 121/2018Remand prisoners must be detained separated from children or young adults serving definitive sentences. Moreover, isolation is not applicable in juvenile detention facilities, and cannot be used as a disciplinary sanction.

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report
2017The NPM pointed out that detention is actually the last-resort measure for children who have committed criminal offences. Report details
2020According to the 2020 report of the Italian NPM – presented to the Italian Parliament on 26 June 2020 – detention of children is actually used as a last-resort measure in Italy. As of 31 December 2019, 363 persons were detained in Italian IPMs, compared to 1,072 serving their sentence in community centres. As of 15 April 2020, persons detained in IPMs decreased to 302 (138 children and 164 young adults). However, 42% of the persons detained in IPMs were third-country citizens: according to the NPM, this data suggests that foreign children have less possibilities to benefit from alternatives to detention. Moreover, the NPM stressed that the age assessment procedure – that is used mostly for unaccompanied migrant children who cannot demonstrate their age with the ordinary identity documents – is still too often carried out through traditional medical tests – especially the x-ray of the child’s bone structure – instead of using a multi-disciplinary approach, as envisaged by international, EU and national legislation. Report details