England: Proposals Introduced to Reform Pre-charge Bail to Provide Better...
(Mar. 1, 2021) On January 14, 2021, the U.K. government published its response to a consultation into the use of pre-charge bail amid concern that it was not being used appropriately because of a...
View ArticlePakistan: Supreme Court Bars Use of Death Penalty for Inmates with Serious...
(Mar. 3, 2021) On February 10, 2021, a five-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in a landmark judgment barred the use of the death penalty for inmates with serious mental illness or disorders...
View ArticleItaly: Implementation of EU Legislation on Arrest Warrants
(Mar. 9, 2021) On February 2, 2021, Italy issued Legislative Decree No. 10 (L.D. No. 10) amending domestic legislation to implement a European Union (EU) standard related to the European Arrest...
View ArticleNicaragua: Amendment to Code of Criminal Procedure Extends Pretrial...
(Mar. 11, 2021) On February 5, 2021, Law No. 1060, which amends Nicaragua’s Code of Criminal Procedure to extend the previous 48-hour pretrial preventive detention period for suspects, was published in...
View ArticleEngland: Restrictions on Privacy in Parole Hearings Loosened
(Mar. 15, 2021) On February 8, 2021, England’s government announced its intention to amend rule 15 of the Parole Board Rules 2019, which provide that, with limited exceptions, all parole hearings...
View ArticleMexico: First Cases Approved under Law Granting Amnesty to Criminals...
(May 3, 2021) On April 22, 2021, the Mexican government announced that it had approved the release from prison of five convicted individuals as provided by the Amnesty Law adopted one year earlier. The...
View ArticleChina: Revised Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Law Takes Effect
(June 9, 2021) On June 1, 2021, a revised version of China’s Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Law entered into effect. (Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Law (official gazette version), revised by...
View ArticleItaly: Requirement to Complete Two-Thirds of Sentence to Obtain Early Release...
(Dec. 16, 2019) On November 8, 2019, the Italian Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional a provision of Law No. 354 of July 26, 1975 (article 58-quater, paragraph 4) requiring that persons...
View ArticleMexico: Executive Branch to Propose Criminal Justice System Reforms to Senate
(Jan. 27, 2020) On January 15, 2020, the Mexican Senate announced that it will receive a proposal from the executive branch aimed at comprehensively reforming aspects of Mexico’s criminal justice...
View ArticlePeru: President Enacts Decree Changing Requirements for Foreigners Convicted...
(Jan. 31, 2020) On January 23, 2020, the president of Peru, Martín Vizcarra, with the approval of the Council of Ministers, enacted Emergency Decree 018-2020 to change the prerequisites for foreigners...
View ArticleFinland: Parliamentary Ombudsman Tells Ministry of Justice to Clarify...
(Feb. 4, 2020) On October 30, 2019, Finland’s Deputy Ombudsman issued Decision 5349/2019, in which it criticized the smoking prohibition provision of the Finnish Prison Act as ambiguous and called for...
View ArticleFrance: European Court of Human Rights Finds France in Violation of European...
(Feb. 26, 2020) On January 30, 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (E.C.H.R.) found that France was in violation of the European Convention of Human Rights because of poor conditions of detention...
View ArticleNew Zealand: Bill to Restore Voting Rights for Some Prisoners Introduced
(Mar. 6, 2020) On February 25, 2020, the New Zealand government introduced the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill in the Parliament. The bill amends the Electoral Act 1993...
View ArticleMexico: OAS International Forum on Prisons Spurs Mexican Reform Bills
(Mar. 12, 2020) On February 6, 2020, the Organization of American States (OAS) released a statement summarizing the results of a Meeting of Officials Responsible for the Penitentiary and Prison...
View ArticleMexico: President Urges Approval of Amnesty Law Because of Coronavirus...
(Apr. 24, 2020) On April 15, 2020, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador urged Mexico’s Senate to pass the Amnesty Law to prevent the massive spread of the coronavirus in the country’s 17...
View ArticleMexico: President Signs Law Granting Amnesty to Criminals Incarcerated for...
(Apr. 24, 2020) On April 22, 2020, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed into law a bill passed by Mexico’s Senate two days earlier granting amnesty to persons incarcerated for the...
View ArticleTurkey: New Parole Measure Expected to Significantly Lower Prison Population
(Apr. 28, 2020) On April 14, 2020, the Parliament of Turkey passed Law No. 7242 amending Law No. 5275 on the Execution of Penal and Security Measures. The amendments include both provisions that are...
View ArticlePhilippines: Supreme Court Holds First Virtual Session, Addresses Petition to...
(Apr. 30, 2020) On April 17, 2020, the Philippine Supreme Court held a virtual en banc session for the first time in its history in order to address an urgent petition requesting the release of elderly...
View ArticleItaly: Decree-Law Institutes Alternative Penitentiary Measures to Combat...
(June 10, 2020) On May 11, 2020, Decree-Law No. 29 (D. L. No. 29), which had been issued the previous day by the president of Italy to institute new penitentiary measures aimed at reducing COVID-19...
View ArticleItaly: Supreme Court of Cassation Issues Decision on Rights of Detained Persons
(June 26, 2020) On May 22, 2020, the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) issued a decision declaring unconstitutional a provision imposing a radical ban on communication between incarcerated...
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