Background information for the LIBE delegation to Italy on the situation of prisons 26-28 March 2014 : in-depth analysis

Upon request by the LIBE Committee, this internal note provides background information for the delegation of the Committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs (LIBE) to Italy on the situation of prisons on 26-28 March 2014. After a preliminary overview of some initiatives on detention conditions at EU level (by the European Parliament and the European Commission), the note analyses the Italian situation regarding overcrowding of prisons and conditions of detention, defined by the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights as inhuman and degrading treatment in some cases. The note also refers to recent Italian legislative and jurisprudential developments, whose effects on the situation of prisons have yet to be determined.