Demòcrates Proposes Stricter Limits on Pre-Trial Detention in Penitentiary Bill Amendments

**Demòcrates tables amendments to further tighten pre-trial detention limits through trial phase in penitentiary bill**

Demòcrates has submitted 11 amendments to the government's bill on penitentiary and penal measures, seeking deeper cuts to pre-trial detention periods that extend into the trial court stage.

The party's proposals would restrict time in custody once a case reaches the judging court to three months for minor offences and nine months for major ones. Combined with earlier phases, this would limit overall pre-trial detention to nine months for minor cases and up to 21 months for the gravest major offences, such as homicide, murder, drug trafficking or money laundering.

The government's original bill already reduced initial pre-trial periods—before the judging court—to eight months for minor offences (four months plus a four-month extension). For major offences, it allowed a second extension, plus third and fourth exceptional four-month periods in severe cases, for a potential total of 20 months. In the trial court phase, the bill proposed six months for minor offences and up to 12 months for major ones (10 months standard, 12 for severe cases), while leaving prior court-phase limits at six and 12 months.

Demòcrates' changes would also shorten post-conviction appeal detention from the current 18 months to eight months. Additional proposals formalise existing practices, such as requiring multidisciplinary team assessments for exceptions to standard internment regimes. For involuntary medical treatments, they mandate prior civil jurisdiction approval, followed by judicial review with input from the inmate, their lawyer and the prosecutor. The amendments also detail procedures for involuntary hospitalisation and require asset seizures or freezes during investigations to follow proportionality and minimal burden principles.

Concòrdia, the primary opposition group, has put forward 10 amendments. Three target the bill's tougher penalties for driving under the influence of drugs, refusing alcohol or drug tests, or theft, which remove arrest as an option in favour of one- or two-year prison terms for deterrence. Concòrdia insists arrests should remain available to address inmates' social disconnection and aid reintegration.

Aligning with Superior Council of Justice recommendations, Concòrdia seeks to streamline disciplinary processes, allowing instructors to deny inmate-requested tests without immediate justification—particularly for non-appealable proofs—to ease judicial bottlenecks. On involuntary medical treatments, the group would confine them to cases where an inmate's will cannot be determined or where risks threaten life, health or third-party safety. This responds to external reports flagging potential overmedication and "pharmacological restraints" in the prison. Concòrdia also proposes applying the new rules retroactively to ongoing cases if more favourable to those affected, preventing automatic subjection to prior legislation.