Long-term Deprivation of Liberty
had passed from the day on which the infraction was committed until the resolu
tion was adopted to initiate the procedure. In such cases there is failure to comply
with the immediacy that should exist between the time the infraction is commit
ted and the disciplinary reaction with the corresponding sanction.
As mentioned, the «Las Palmeras» center does not have a computerized registry
of the application of the disciplinary regime. In consequence, during the inspec
tion the Deputy Director drafted a list of the 21 disciplinary procedures initiated
in 2011 from the January 1st to December 18th. On examining said list, it was
noted that all procedures had been initiated as a result of infractions classified in
Article 63 of the Regulations (serious infractions). Moreover, it was noted that the
2011 Report contained information on the following disciplinary procedures: 1
due to a very serious infraction, 16 for serious infractions and 163 for minor in
fractions. According to the Deputy Director, this difference in the figures be
tween the two consecutive years was due to the fact that the data used to draft the
2012 list were obtained from information in the procedures initiated for very se
rious and serious infractions, which are notified to the Judge, Public Prosecutor
and the Agency. This information is easy to obtain, which is not the case in re
spect to minor infractions.
The «Las Palmeras» center
does not have a
computerized registry of
the application disciplinary
regimes
155. Paragraph 188 of the 2011 Annual Report already expressed concern re
garding the large number of disciplinary procedures applied in some centers, to
the detriment of the application of educational corrections. However, on examin
ing the documents during the inspection visit at the «Teresa de Calcuta» center,
an increase in the application of educational corrections at that center was noted,
leading to the assessment that any excess, either in the application of one type of
procedure or the other (educational or disciplinary) is not advisable. Educational
corrections, without prejudice to their pedagogical value, have some drawbacks:
they are not contemplated in the regulations; they are inevitably subject to the
arbitrariness of the educator; and they are beyond the scope of the system of legal
guarantees provided in the regulations for sanctions, and thus are not registered,
for example, in the statistical information submitted by this center. In conse
quence, the balanced application of the disciplinary regime and educational cor
rections would be advisable, obviously in accordance with the circumstances.
The balanced application
of a disciplinary regime
and of educational
corrections is advisable
156. At the three centers inspected it was noted that the lawyers of minors in
custody are not informed of the resolutions adopted in respect to disciplinary
procedures initiated against minors which give rise to sanctions, contrary to the
contents of paragraphs 409 of the 2010 Annual Report and 175 of the 2011 An
nual Report. In this respect and following an analysis of the matter, a Recom
mendation has been made to the Ministry of Justice to modify section two of
Article 76 of Royal Decree 1774/2004, of 30th July, in order to impose on centers
for juvenile offenders the obligation of communicating to the minor’s lawyer all
of the disciplinary sanctions imposed on the minor and to clarify in which cases
A recommendation has
been made to ensure that
minors’ lawyers are
informed of the disciplinary
sanctions imposed on
THE OMBUDSMAN OF SPAIN
minors
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