The text is a synthetic report of how the Chilean criminal justice system has reacted to the movement restrictions generated by the COVID pandemic. At first the problems were focused on giving continuity to the hearings on guarantees, especially those that affect people's freedom. Now the great challenge of the system is to verify the possibility of conducting oral trials, respecting the basic guarantees of due process
Book Review: J. Sarkin, The Global Impact and Legacy of Truth Commissions, Intersentia, Cambridge-Antwerp-Chicago, 2019
The article presents data about the spread of Coronavirus in federal and state prisons in the U.S. The first part of the article is dedicated to the Coronavirus spread among detainees, while the second data set gives information about contagions and deaths among prison staff. In the online version, you can choose to view the data for any state prison system and see how the numbers compare
This article is part of the Inter-University Programme "Cultura de la Legalidad" (ON TRUST-CM) of the Community of Madrid
Text originally published in Italian on Sistema Penale, 26th April 2020. Translated, with the authorization of Sistema Penale, by Fernando Londoño Martínez, associate professor at the Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago de Chile
The paper first briefly addresses the Chilean situation with regard to the Covid-19 pandemic and explains some of the measures that the criminal justice system has taken during this period, focusing on an analysis of the recently approved law on pardon. In this context, it reports on the interesting ruling by the Constitutional Court that rejected an injunction of unconstitutionality submitted by a group of congressmen who claimed that the mentioned law violated equality before the law, as well as life and health of a group of prisoners, all of whom had been convicted of serious crimes against humanity, a group that the pardon law expressly excludes
The first criminal trial worldwide on State-run torture in Syria started in Koblenz, Germany, on 23 April 2020. The defendants are two former high officials of the Syrian General Intelligence Service of President Bashar al-Assad and face charges for international crimes committed in the Al-Khatib prison of Damascus. The trial marks a historical achievement in international criminal justice; in fact, it is the first trial based on the principle of universal jurisdiction against Syrian State officials. Moreover, the Al-Kathib trial, together with other proceedings held in a few other European States, is currently the only way to ensure accountability for the grave crimes committed within the Syrian conflict
The Trends in the Italian Constitutional Jurisprudence, in the Report by President Cartabia
With a recent law, the Portuguese legislator, in order to deal with the coronavirus emergency within the prison system, has adopted a pardon, together with other measures aimed at reducing the number of prisoners.