ELEMENTS OF PENITENTIAL LAW

Single discipline educational activity

Course Sheet

Course code:

000379L

Academic Year of enrolment:

2021

Year of supply:

2023/2024

Type of Course:

Elective Course

Degree:

Course of 1st Cycle Degree in SOCIOLOGY AND CRIMINOLOGY

Disciplinary Sector:

Criminal Procedural Law

Location:

PESCARA

Credits:

Programme Year:

Professor and Collaborators:

TRAPELLA FRANCESCO

Cycle:

First semester

Hours of classroom activity:

Individual study hours:

102

Prerequisites:

Knowledge of the foundations of Public Law is essential, at least as regards the sources of law and the relationships between the powers of the State.
It is preferable to take the exam of "Elements of prison law" after having assimilated the definition of "punishment" and having understood its functions. These concepts can be perfectly acquired in the courses of "Sociology of law and punishment" and "Criminology".

Objectives

MAIN KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED - The student will acquire a solid knowledge of the regulatory system governing the execution of sentences rendered by the criminal justice authority. Starting from the principles of the Constitution and European sources, students will understand both the code discipline of the executive title and the execution order, and the rules governing the execution and surveillance procedures; further knowledge acquired will concern the functioning of penitentiary institutions, the instruments for protecting the rights of inmates, their duties and the rules that guide their reintegration into society.
MAIN SKILLS ACQUIRED - Students will be able to apply the knowledge acquired as a function of their entry into the world of work, both for competitions in Prison Administration and to guarantee, in these institutions, the necessary professionalism in assisting inmates.
At the end of the course the student will be able to use the legal knowledge acquired, placing them in relation to other knowledge learned in the degree course, conceiving the penitentiary phenomenon from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Contents

Starting from the notion of res iudicata, the course will illustrate the rules governing the execution of criminal sentences and will focus on the issues that arise around the deprivation of individual freedom as a result of a conviction. The course contemplates the study of: 1) the Law of criminal execution, understood as a compendium of rules that give substance to the executive title and that regulate the relationship between the judicial authority and the parties in this phase of the criminal matter; 2) the Prison Law, understood as a compendium of rules governing the functioning of detention institutions, the daily life of inmates, their relationship with the authorities and their reintegration into the society.

Extended Syllabus

PRESENTATION OF THE COURSE, THE PROGRAM, ITS OBJECTIVES, in particular the Criminal execution and the Constitution (2 hours)
LAW OF CRIMINAL EXECUTION (16 hours) – The res iudicata; the enforceable title and the execution order; suspension of the execution order (3 hours). Execution and substitute penalties according to the Cartabia reform (1 hour). The deduction, the provision of cumulation; the execution of fines (2 hours). The execution procedure (2 hours); the monitory procedure, questions on the enforceable title, the continuation between res iudicata, the error on the identity of the convict, the effects of the decriminalization on the res iudicata (2 hours); the surveillance procedure (2 hours); laboratory on judicial error (4 hours).
PENITENTIARY LAW (30 hours) – Constitutional and European principles on personal freedom and prison (3 hours); confusion between cognition justice and surveillance according to the Cartabia reform (1 hour); prison treatment and rehabilitative treatment, in particular the elements of treatment (2 hours); prison as a social formation and as a place of rights: the simple complaint, the jurisdictional complaint and the compensatory remedies (4 hours); permits as a step in the rehabilitative treatment: necessity permits and bonus permits (2 hours); alternative measures as a stage of the rehabilitative treatment: general information, probationary assignment to the social service, home detention, semi-freedom (6 hours); early release and conditional release (2 hours); the duties of the inmate: the disciplinary procedure (2 hours); objectivity and collaborators of justice (2 hours); special intramural regimens (2 hours); elements of juvenile prison law (4 hours).
The lessons will offer insights into some of the topics foreseen for non-attending students; for this reason the exam will be differentiated according to the frequency of the student.
The calendar of lessons will alternate between 1 to 2 Law of criminal execution topics and Prison Law topics. This means that, after a first lesson to present the course, there will be a Law of criminal execution lecture followed by two Prison Law lessons, and so on until the end of the course.

Recommended Bibliography

All students, regardless of attendance, will have to study the constitutional framework of individual freedoms and the administration of justice, necessary to understand the topics of the course, on the text by F. BILANCIA, S. CIVITARESE, Il diritto pubblico nella società contemporanea, Giappichelli, Turin, 2023, LIMITED to pages 361-402 (i.e. chap. 19, limited to §§19.1-19.4.2), 421 (i.e. chap. 19, §19.6) and 449-458 (i.e. chap. 20, limited to the introductory part and to § 20.1).
For the rest, attending students will be able to prepare the exam on the notes and materials distributed by the teacher. This does not mean that the recommended books will remain indifferent to attending students: in fact, they are advised to use them to organize their notes and coordinate them with the explained topic, for the parts of the program illustrated in class.
Non attending students will study: A. SCALFATI ed., Manuale di diritto processuale penale, Giappichelli, Turin, 2022, limited to pages 987-1070; A. DIDDI, Manuale di diritto penitenziario, Pacini, Pisa, 2022, limited to pages 19-382; 395-460.
It is necessary to study the latest edition of the indicated manuals.
All students must constantly consult the Constitution, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Penitentiary System (Law no. 354/1975). Il Nuovo Codice Penitenziario edited by PETRUCCI, published by Simone, 2022 is recommended. The volume, divided into two volumes, contains the rules and a collection of circulars useful for understanding the application of the regulatory provisions and, therefore, in support of the study and the eventual preparation of the thesis.
Erasmus students will replace the part on Criminal Execution Law (i.e. manual edited by Scalfati) with readings agreed with the teacher on the penitentiary system of the countries of origin.

Methods of Provision

Conventional

Teaching Methods

48 hours of frontal lessons. Seminars and supplementary lessons are planned with the presence of experts, sector operators and teachers, including foreign ones. Participation in conferences on the subject is foreseen.
The teacher will not collect attendance signatures; the student will indicate his or her status as an attending student when registering for the exam.

Evaluation methods

Verification of learning:

ATTENDING STUDENTS – An intermediate written test (valid for 50% of the final grade) and a final written test (valid for the remaining 50%). Both tests will be divided into two open-ended questions, with no space limits: on both occasions there will be a question on Law of criminal execution issues and one on Prison Law issues. Each answer will be assigned a score between 1 and 30, and the tests will be considered passed if the average of the evaluations is at least 18/30 and if in each of the answers the student has achieved a score of not less than 18/30.
NON ATTENDING STUDENTS - Written exam with 3 open-ended questions with no space limits: one question will focus on Law of criminal execution issues and two, on Prison law issues. Each answer will be assigned a score between 1 and 30, and the tests will be considered passed if the average score is at least 18/30 and if in each of the answers the student has achieved a score of no less than 18/30.
FOR EVERYONE - Each test will be evaluated according to the following criteria: 1) Knowledge of the contents; 2) Synthesis and connection skills; 3) Knowledge, understanding and use of specific language.
Students (attending and not) who will take part profitably in the methodological meetings for learning the techniques of study of law (see "other information") and will pass the written test be able to obtain an increase in the final grade up to 2 points.
The conferment of honors presupposes the student's ability to argue on controversial issues of the subject. Honors will be awarded only to students who have obtained an average of 30/30 in the answers of the written exam.
ERASMUS STUDENTS - 15 multiple choice questions - 2 points for each correct answer (valid for 75% of the final mark). Oral exam on recommended reading: a question on the penitentiary system in the Country of origin (25% of the final grade).

Contacts/More Information

The teacher receives weekly at the times indicated on the appropriate page of the departmental website. The teacher remains available for any need at the address francesco.trapella@unich.it.
The teacher is available to follow students for the thesis in "Elements of prison law". The thesis will be articulated in the form of the sentence note: once the student has identified a preferred theme of the program, the teacher will assign an European Court of Human Rights judgment, a Constitutional Court judgment, a Court of Cassation judgment or a decision of the jurisdictions of merit; the student will articulate a comment between 30 and 50 pages long, identifying: a) the fact; b) the legal problem raised before the judge; c) the rules involved; d) the solution of the case; e) any alternative solutions; f) any interdisciplinary ideas useful for better framing the case; g) the reference bibliography; h) jurisprudential precedents. The thesis must be delivered to the professor at least 20 days before the date scheduled for submission.
To facilitate the study of the Prison Law, the Chair will organize some methodological meetings in October 2023, aimed at acquiring the techniques of study and learning of law.

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

Aree