Custodial educational measures – a case-law perspective

Abstract

Through the adoption of the current Criminal Code, the legislator has abandoned the old vision of a dual sanctioning system for minors who are criminally liable, specific to the old regulation, consisting of punishments and educational measures and has moved towards a unitary system, consisting only of educational measures, governed by the rule that deprivation of liberty should be a last resort solution. However, it can be seen that the new regulation still allows the courts to order the deprivation of liberty of minors for a considerable period of time, during which they are isolated from their social environment, under the desideratum of them being re-educated. Therefore, it can be useful to analyse whether the reform of the system of penalties for juvenile offenders that are criminally liable has led to a clear distinction of the sanctions applicable to them from traditional punishments, as well as the manner in which the concerns for differential treatment of juvenile defendants have been absorbed into the judicial practice.