ARTICLE 25.2 OF SPANISH CONSTITUTION: A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT OF PRISONERS?

Abstract

Even though our Constitutional Court and a section of the Spanish public law doctrine continue to support that Article 25.2 contains only an instruction directed to the legislator in criminal and penitentiary matters, we could affirm that this aforementioned precept contains a real fundamental right to the reintegration of the prisoner, which is subject to constitutional protection. In the same way, the true sense that should be granted to the re-socialization, avoiding the de-socialization of the prisoners, will be allowed to conclude that they have the same rights as men in freedom, with the exception of the triad of article 25.2: contents of condemnatory ruling, sense of punishment and penitentiary law.