Order of the Surveillance Court of Spoleto No. 772 of 9 May 2017

The Surveillance Judge of Spoleto submitted to the Constitutional Court the issue of constitutional legitimacy of the norms imposing on detainees under the special regime provided by Article 41 bis of the ‘Ordinamento penitenziario’ the prohibition to cook their food. The Surveillance Judge grounded its decision on the ‘Basic Principles’ of the ‘Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on the European Prison Rules’ (Adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 11 January 2006). Among these, there is the principle that “Restrictions placed on persons deprived of their liberty shall be the minimum necessary and proportionate to the legitimate objective for which they are imposed” and that “Life in prison shall approximate as closely as possible the positive aspects of life in the community” (Part I, paras. 3 and 5).