Derecho penal de menores y centros de internamiento. Una perspectiva penitenciaria

Résumé

The link between the interment of under-age criminals and the adult prison system is obvious. We can observe it throughout the history, and it is stressed by the clash between the protectionist positions of the minor -consequence of the correctional that took place during the nineteenth century- and the models about minor responsibilities that have formed our current Juvenile Criminal Law. With the entry into effect of the LO 5/2000, which regulates the criminal responsibility of minors, the tendency seems to be inclined towards these models of criminal responsibility. Using these results as a starting point, the recent legal ordinance for minors has had many reforms. The last one took place in the year 2006 and its main objective was to toughen the measures that are related to minor deprivations, to the detriment of its educational purpose. The research that has been carried out is in line to monopolize the explanation of this problem, focusing on a comparative view between the mandamus of adults law enforcements -mainly represented by the LO 1/1979- and Juvenile Criminal Law. To achieve this aim is necessary to hold an inquiry about both custodial-sentence institutions (adult prison and juvenile internment) from a historical, international, and current perspective. The conclusions of this study will bring new responses, motivating the establishment of a true juvenile prison system with its own fundamental-guaranteed law that will be more effective for its main goals of re-education and re-socialization.