Judgment No. 15153/2022: Detainees' Right to Send Postal Packages

Judgment No. 15153 of November 23, 2022, filed on April 11, 2023, raised important issues concerning the rights of detainees within the framework of the differentiated prison regime provided for by Article 41-bis of the Penitentiary Act. Specifically, the Court ruled that detainees do not have a subjective right to send postal packages, limiting the recognized right to correspondence.

Regulatory Context

Article 41-bis of the Italian Penitentiary Act was introduced to manage situations involving particularly dangerous detainees, allowing for restrictions on their rights. According to the ruling, detainees subject to this regime cannot consider sending postal packages as a right, but only correspondence as such.

01 President: BONI MONICA. Rapporteur: MAGI RAFFAELLO. Rapporteur: MAGI RAFFAELLO. Defendant: ATTANASIO ALESSIO. Public Prosecutor: DE MASELLIS MARIELLA. (Partial Dissent) Rejects, SUPERVISORY COURT OF TURIN, 19/01/2022 563000 INSTITUTIONS FOR PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT (PENITENTIARY LAW) - Regime under art. 41-bis of the Penitentiary Act - Sending postal packages externally - Detainee's subjective right - Exclusion - Consequences regarding appeals against the denial by the prison administration. In the context of the differentiated prison regime provided for by art. 41-bis of the Penitentiary Act, the detainee's subjective right to send postal packages externally does not exist, as the latter is only recognized the right to correspondence. Therefore, the remedy provided for by art. 35-bis of the Penitentiary Act cannot be used against the prison administration's denial to transmit postal packages.

Implications of the Judgment

This decision has several practical and legal implications, including:

• Limitation of Detainees' Rights: The judgment reiterates that detainees' rights are not unlimited, especially under a particularly strict regime like that of art. 41-bis.
• Appealability: It is not possible to file an appeal against the prison administration's denial to send packages, which raises questions about the protection of detainees' rights.
• Legal References: The decision also connects to provisions such as art. 35-bis and the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees respect for human dignity, even in prison.

Conclusions

Judgment No. 15153/2022 marks a crucial point in Italian jurisprudence regarding the rights of detainees, particularly for those under the regime of art. 41-bis. The absence of a subjective right to send postal packages raises questions about the management of human rights within Italian prisons. It is essential to continue monitoring the application of these regulations to ensure that detainees' rights are always respected to the extent permitted by law.