Guide to the Reform: Home Detention and Rehabilitation for Drug and Alcohol Addicts (A.C. 2961)

 

Bill A.C. 2961 of the 19th Legislature introduces significant changes to the Consolidated Law on Narcotic Substances (Presidential Decree 309/1990) and the Code of Criminal Procedure. The reform aims to promote the social rehabilitation of people suffering from addiction, offering alternatives to prison and emphasising the importance of the therapeutic process.

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1. The New Therapeutic House Arrest (Art. 94-ter of the Consolidated Law)

Article 94-ter establishes a new alternative to imprisonment for convicted offenders suffering from drug or alcohol addiction where the conditions for ordinary probation under Article 94 are not met.

• Sentence limits for eligibility:

  • Up to 8 years’ imprisonment (including any remaining term or in conjunction with a fine) for ordinary offences..

  • Up to 4 years if the enforceable judgement includes offences precluding eligibility under Article 4-bis of the Prison Regulations.

  • Special exemption from the 8-year limit applies in cases of aggravated robbery (Article 628(3) of the Criminal Code) and aggravated extortion (Article 629(2) of the Criminal Code), even though these fall within the list of disqualifying offences.

• Programme arrangements:

  • Residential: to be carried out at public National Health Service (SSN) facilities or accredited private facilities.

  • Semi-residential: may be carried out in suitable locations other than residential facilities (not available for offences under Article 4-bis, with the exception of aggravated robbery and extortion).

• Requirements and Monitoring::

  • The application requires certification of the addiction, evidence of the link between the addiction and the offence, and the preparation of a treatment programme.

  • The manager of the facility must submit half-yearly progress reports.

  • In the event of failure to complete the programme through no fault of their own, the convicted person may request a transfer to another facility (up to a maximum of two times).

  • Within 5 days of being notified of serious breaches, the judicial authority shall order the revocation of the measure.

• Reward mechanism: Those who successfully complete the programme may be granted probation or ordinary house arrest, even as an exception to the standard limits on the remaining sentence (increased by half or a quarter).

 

2. he ‘Special Plea Bargain’ for Rehabilitation (Art. 94-quater of the Consolidated Law)

Article 94-quater introduces a procedure for the early settlement of proceedings based on an agreement between the parties. The crux of the ‘plea bargain’ lies not only in the reduction of the sentence, but in the choice of the method of enforcement (the immediate commencement of the rehabilitation programme).

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3. Further Innovations of the Reform

• Judicial Support (Art. 2): Provision is made for staff from the Office for the Trial Process (UPP) to be deployed at the Supervisory Courts to assist magistrates in preliminary investigations and to speed up decision-making.

• Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (Art. 3): Article 656 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is amended to raise to 8 years the maximum sentence within which the Public Prosecutor may suspend the enforcement order to allow access to the measure under Article 94-ter of the Consolidated Law.

• Transitional Provision (Art. 4): A request for a ‘special plea bargain’ may be made in all pending cases where a first-instance judgment has not yet been handed down, with the trial adjourned for at least 45 days.

• Financial Resources (Articles 5 and 6): A fund of €19,436,250 per annum is established within the Ministry of Health, with effect from 2026, for the implementation of rehabilitation measures and the expansion of the capacity of treatment facilities.