Libro III · Título II Capítulo VIII. Sanciones socioeducativas

Upon verification of the commission of or participation by the adolescent in an act that transgresses criminal law, the corresponding judge may apply the following types of sanctions:

a)Socio-educational sanctions:

1)Admonition and warning.

2)Assisted liberty.

3)Provision of services to the community.

4)Reparation for the damage to the offended party.

b)Guidance and supervision orders:

1)To settle in a determined place of residence or to move from it.

2)To cease contact with certain persons.

3)To cease visiting certain entertainment centers.

4)Obligation to enroll in a formal education center or in another whose objective is to teach him or her a profession or trade.

5)To refrain from consuming alcoholic beverages, hallucinogenic, enervating, narcotic or toxic substances that produce addiction or habit.

6)Obligation to undergo formative, cultural, educational, professional, labor, sexual-education, road-safety-education or other similar programs

c)To order the therapeutic internment of the boy, girl or adolescent or outpatient treatment in a specialized health center, public or private, to detoxify them or eliminate their addiction to the aforementioned drugs.

d)Deprivation of the driving permit.

e)Sanctions involving deprivation of liberty:

1.Domiciliary deprivation of liberty.

2.Deprivation of liberty during free time.

3.Deprivation of liberty in specialized centers on weekends, extending from Saturday at eight hours to Sunday at eighteen hours.

4.Deprivation of liberty in specialized compliance centers under an open, semi-open or closed regime.

To determine the applicable sanction, the following must be taken into account:

a)The verification of conduct that violates criminal law.

b)The verification that the adolescent has carried out or participated in the transgression of criminal law.

c)The capacity to comply with the sanction, as well as the proportionality, rationality and suitability thereof.

d)The adolescent's age, sex, cultural origin and personal, family and social circumstances.

e)The adolescent's efforts to repair the damage.

f)The effects of the sanction on the adolescent's future life.

The sanctions indicated shall have a primarily educational purpose and shall be applied, where applicable, with the intervention of the family and the support of the specialists as determined.

The sanctions may in no case exceed the time limit indicated by this Law.

Admonition is the call to attention that the Judge orally directs to the adolescent, making the adolescent understand the seriousness of the act committed and the consequence that it has had or could have had both for the adolescent and for third parties, exhorting the adolescent not to commit such acts again in the future, so that henceforth the adolescent abides by the norms of family interaction and social coexistence.

When applicable, the Judge shall warn the parents, guardians or persons responsible regarding the conduct engaged in and shall indicate to them that they must collaborate in respect for legal and social norms.

The admonition and the warning shall be clear and direct, so that the adolescent and the persons responsible for his or her conduct understand the unlawfulness of the acts committed.

Assisted liberty is an educational, socializing and individualized sanction, which consists of granting the liberty of the adolescent under the assistance and supervision of specialized personnel. It shall be oriented toward the development of skills, capacities and aptitudes for the personal and social development of the adolescent.

Its maximum duration shall be two years and its execution shall begin no later than fifteen days after it has been ordered, during which time the responsible technical team shall prepare the individual plan for the adolescent's assisted liberty.

The provision of community services consists of performing unpaid tasks, of general interest, in assistance entities, public or private, such as hospitals, schools, national parks and other similar establishments.

Tasks shall be assigned according to the aptitudes of the adolescents, endeavoring, where possible, to relate the nature of the activity to that of the legally protected interest harmed by the adolescent. Tasks shall be performed during a maximum schedule of eight hours per week, on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays or on working days, but without prejudicing attendance at school or the normal workday.

Community services shall be provided for a maximum period of six months.

The sanction shall be maintained for the time necessary for the imposed service to be effectively performed or to be substituted. The sanction shall be supervised and guided by the person whom the judge designates, who shall develop an individual plan for the adolescent.

Reparation of damage consists of an obligation to act on the part of the adolescent, in favor of the victim, for the purpose of redressing the damage caused or restoring the thing damaged by the criminal conduct.

When an adolescent over fifteen years of age performs an act that affects the victim's economic patrimony, the judge may determine, taking special care with regard to the adolescent's economic situation, that the adolescent restore the thing, promote redress of the damage or compensate the loss caused to the victim. When such act is committed by an adolescent thirteen to fourteen years of age, the judge may also order reparation of the damage, with the parents, guardians or responsible persons being jointly and severally obligated.

The judge may impose this sanction only when the victim and the adolescent have given their consent. If both parties agree to substitute the work with a sum of money, the judge shall proceed to set the amount deemed equivalent to the damage and losses caused by the crime or misdemeanor. The sanction shall be considered complied with when the judge determines that the damage has been repaired in the best possible manner.

Reparation of damage excludes civil compensation.

The orders of orientation and supervision consist of commands or prohibitions imposed by the Judge of Adolescents in Conflict with Criminal Law to regulate the conduct of adolescents, as well as to promote and ensure their development.

The orders or prohibitions shall last for a maximum period of two years and compliance therewith shall begin no later than one month after they are ordered.

If any of these obligations is not complied with, the judge may, on its own initiative or at the request of a party, modify the order or prohibition imposed.

Deprivation of the driving permit consists of temporarily depriving the adolescent of their driving permit or of their right to obtain it.

This sanction may be imposed when the crime or minor offense was committed using a motor vehicle. This sanction may be imposed for a maximum period of two years.

Therapeutic outpatient treatment consists of subjecting the adolescent to treatment under the responsibility of a professional or specialized center. The adolescent is obligated to attend the designated place with the periodicity required by the physicians treating him or her, as well as to follow the guidelines established for the proper treatment of the addiction from which he or she suffers, or of the alterations in his or her perception or psychic anomalies or alterations.

Therapeutic internment consists of internment in a therapeutic care center so that specialized education or specific treatment is provided to the adolescent for the addiction or dependence from which he or she suffers, or to treat the suffering from psychic anomalies or alterations, or alterations in perception that determine a serious alteration of consciousness of reality.

In both cases, the judge shall be periodically informed of the progress of the treatment. If the adolescent rejects the detoxification treatment, the judge shall adopt another sanction appropriate to his or her circumstances.

The maximum duration of the sanction, in the case of outpatient treatment, shall not exceed twelve months, and in the case of therapeutic internment, shall not exceed four months.

The sanction depriving of liberty shall be used as a last resort and only when it is not possible to apply another type of sanction.

The deprivation of liberty has the following modalities:

a)Domiciliary deprivation of liberty.

b)Deprivation of liberty during free time.

c)Deprivation of liberty in specialized centers during weekends, covering from Saturday at eight hours to Sunday at eighteen hours.

d)Deprivation of liberty in a specialized compliance center under an open, semi-open or closed regime.

Domiciliary deprivation of liberty consists of the deprivation of liberty of the adolescent in his or her dwelling house, with his or her family. If it cannot be served in his or her dwelling house, for reasons of inconvenience or impossibility, it shall be carried out in the house of any relative. When no relative is available, deprivation of liberty may be ordered in a private dwelling or private entity that takes care of the adolescent. In this latter case, his or her consent must be obtained.

Domiciliary deprivation of liberty shall not affect performance of work or attendance at his or her educational center. A social worker of the Trial Court for Control of Execution of Sanctions shall supervise compliance with this sanction, the duration of which shall not exceed one year.

The deprivation of liberty during free time shall be served in a specialized center, during the free time available to the adolescent in the course of the week. The duration of this confinement shall not exceed eight months. Free time shall be considered that during which the adolescent is not required to comply with his work schedule nor attend an educational center.

Deprivation of liberty on weekends shall be served in a specialized center, from Saturday at eight hours to Sunday at eighteen hours. During that period, individual activities shall be scheduled to promote the adolescent's accountability process. The maximum duration of this sanction shall be eight months.

The sanction of deprivation of liberty in a specialized compliance center is of an exceptional nature. It may be applied only in the following cases:

a)When it involves conduct carried out by means of serious threat or violence against persons and property and it involves a crime against life, sexual liberty, individual liberty, aggravated robbery and trafficking in narcotics.

b)When it involves intentional crimes punished in the Criminal Code or special laws, for adults with a penalty of imprisonment exceeding six years.

The sanction of deprivation of liberty shall last for a maximum period of six years for adolescents between fifteen and eighteen years of age, and two years for adolescents aged between thirteen and fifteen years.

The sanction of deprivation of liberty may never be applied when it is not applicable to an adult, pursuant to the Criminal Code.

When applying a sanction of deprivation of liberty, the judge shall consider the period of provisional detention to which the adolescent was subjected.

The deprivation of liberty of the adolescent shall be carried out in accordance with the regime indicated by the judge, taking into account the personal, family, social and educational circumstances of the adolescent.

Deprivation of liberty in a special compliance center may be carried out under any of the following regimes:

a)Open regime, consisting in that the adolescent shall have as habitual residence the special compliance center, establishing in their individual plan and educational project that all their socio-educational activities shall be carried out outside the center, in the services of the surrounding area.

b)Semi-open regime, consisting in that the adolescent shall have as habitual residence the special compliance center, establishing in their individual plan and educational project that some of their formative, educational, labor and rest activities shall be carried out outside the center.

c)Closed regime, consisting in that the adolescent shall reside in the center, establishing in their individual plan and educational project that all their socio-educational activities shall be developed within the center itself.

The application of the regimes of deprivation of liberty may have a progressive character.

The judge may order the conditional suspension of the sanctions involving deprivation of liberty, for a period equal to twice the sanction imposed, taking into account the following circumstances:

a)The efforts of the adolescent to repair the harm caused.

b)The lack of seriousness of the acts committed.

c)The advisability for the educational or employment development of the adolescent.

d)The family and social situation in which the adolescent lives.

e)The fact that the adolescent has been able to establish, independently, an alternative life project.

If, during compliance with the conditional suspension, the adolescent commits a new act constituting a violation of criminal law, the conditional suspension shall be revoked and the adolescent shall serve the sanction imposed.

The execution of the sanctions shall establish and promote the necessary social actions that allow the adolescent, subjected to some type of sanction, their continuing personal development and reintegration into their family and society, as well as the development of their capacities and the sense of their responsibility.

For the attainment of the objective of the sanction, during its execution the following shall be promoted, at a minimum:

a)To satisfy the basic needs of the sanctioned person.

b)To enable their personal development.

c)To reinforce their sense of dignity and self-esteem.

d)To foster the participation of the sanctioned adolescent, in the preparation and execution of their individual plan and educational compliance project.

e)To minimize the negative effects that the execution of the sanction could cause on the future life of the adolescent.

f)To foster, when possible and appropriate, the family ties of the adolescent.

g)To promote direct and indirect contacts between the adolescent and the local community and society in general.

The execution of the sanctions shall be carried out through an individual execution plan for each sanctioned adolescent; the plan shall be prepared by the technical or professional team responsible for the program or unit responsible for the execution of each sanction.

The plan shall contain the educational project of the adolescent and therein shall be recorded a clear description of the objectives sought to be achieved and the steps to be followed. In its preparation, the personal, family, cultural, economic and educational aspects of the adolescent shall be taken into account, as well as the guiding principles of this Law and the objectives that the judge indicates for the specific case.

The plan shall be prepared with the participation and commitment of the adolescent and, where possible, necessary and useful, with that of his or her parents, guardians, persons responsible or family members, who must also sign it.

The plan must be prepared for every sanction imposed, within a time limit of no more than fifteen (15) days, counted from the date on which the judgment becomes final.

It is the duty of the judge who issued the judgment to ensure compliance with the plan and that it is the result of the correct interpretation of the judgment. The judge shall approve the plan and shall order its execution; if the judge considers it necessary to make any modification thereto, before the commencement of its execution, he or she shall inform the technical or professional team responsible for the execution thereof. For approval of the plan, the judge shall consult his or her technical team and has a time limit of no more than three (3) days to decide.

The Trial Court for Control of Execution of Sanctions shall be in charge of controlling the execution of the sanctions imposed on the adolescent. It shall have jurisdiction to resolve the questions or incidents that arise during execution and to control compliance with the objectives established by this Law.

To verify or control the execution of sanctions, verification or control may be delegated to the municipal boards or governmental and non-governmental organizations that develop programs in the municipality, which shall be obligated to render periodic reports on compliance therewith.

The public officials of the specialized centers shall be selected in accordance with their aptitudes and capacities suitable for work with adolescents. For work in the specialized centers for women, women shall be preferred under equality of conditions.

In the specialized centers, the carrying and use of firearms by public officials shall be regulated and restricted only to exceptional cases and cases of necessity.

The Secretariat of Social Welfare of the Presidency of the Republic is the competent authority responsible for carrying out all actions relating to compliance with the sanctions imposed on adolescents and protection measures.

In matters of adolescent criminal liability, it shall have, among others, the following functions:

a)Organize and administer the programs necessary for compliance with the sanctions established in this Law.

b)Provide therapeutic care services and psychosocial guidance to adolescents who are serving a sanction or precautionary measure, as well as to their family members or responsible persons.

c)Periodically inform the judge on the progress of the adolescent's reintegration and resocialization process.

d)Organize and administer the special custody and deprivation of liberty enforcement centers, in their different regimes, as well as ensure compliance with their regulations, under the co-responsibility of the Secretary of Social Welfare and the director of each center.

e)Promote, organize and create, in coordination with civil society and with the active participation of communities, associations and private, public and non-governmental organizations, programs and support units for the reintegration and resocialization of adolescents in conflict with criminal law.

Ensure that the personnel in charge of the execution of the sanctions and in direct contact with the adolescents is competent and sufficient, which shall be composed of professional specialists in the fields of education, health, social work, psychology, psychiatry and law, with specialized training in the human rights of children and adolescents. Their continuous education and training shall be promoted.

During the execution of the sanctions, the adolescent shall have, at a minimum, the following rights:

a)Right to life, dignity and physical and moral integrity.

b)Right to equality before the law and not to be discriminated against.

c)Right to remain, preferably in their family environment, if it meets the appropriate requirements for the development of the adolescent.

d)Right to receive health, educational and social services appropriate to their age and conditions and to have them provided by persons with the required professional training.

e)Right to receive information, from the beginning of the execution of the sanction, regarding:

1.The internal regulations on conduct and life in the center, especially that relating to the disciplinary sanctions that may be applied to them.

2.Their rights in relation to the public officials responsible for the specialized center.

3.The content of the individual execution plan to reintegrate them into society.

4.The form and means of communication with the outside of the center, exit permits and the visitation regime.

5.Right to submit petitions before any authority and to be guaranteed a response.

6.Right to be kept, in any case, separated from offenders convicted under ordinary criminal legislation.

7.Right to be placed in a suitable place for compliance with the individual execution plan and not to be transferred arbitrarily.

8.Right not to be held incommunicado in any case, nor to be subjected to the isolation regime nor to the imposition of corporal penalties. When incommunicado detention or isolation must be applied to prevent acts of violence against the adolescent or third parties, this sanction shall be communicated to the judge for Control of Execution of Sanctions and to the Human Rights Ombudsman, so that, if necessary, they may review and oversee it.

9.Other rights, especially those established for adults and which are applicable to adolescents.

If the adolescent deprived of liberty reaches eighteen (18) years of age during internment, the adolescent shall be placed separately from the adolescents or be transferred to a special center for this purpose. Under no circumstances shall the adolescent be transferred to an adult penal center.

No adolescents shall be admitted to the centers without a prior and written order from the competent authority. Within these centers, the necessary separations according to age shall exist. Adolescents aged between fifteen (15) and eighteen (18) years shall be placed in a place different from that intended for adolescents aged between thirteen (13) and fifteen (15) years; likewise, those in provisional internment and those in definitive internment, first-time offenders and repeat offenders, shall be separated.

The director of the specialized internment center where the adolescent is interned shall send, from the adolescent's admission, to the Judge for Control of Execution of Sanctions a bimonthly report on the situation of the sanctioned person and the development of the individual execution plan, with recommendations for compliance with the objectives of this Law. In addition, he shall indicate the possibilities of the adolescent being subject to a different regime, which shall be implemented progressively according to the adolescent's progress. Failure to comply with the obligation to send said report shall be communicated by the judge to the corresponding administrative chief, so that he sanctions the director.

When the adolescent is about to leave the center, the adolescent shall be prepared for departure, with the assistance of specialists in social work, psychology and psychiatry of the center; likewise, with the collaboration of the parents or family members, if possible.

This Decree shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the official gazette.

The specialized public institutions responsible for the detoxification treatment of boys, girls and adolescents with drug addiction problems, to which this Law refers, shall be created within a time limit of no more than one (1) year after the entry into force of this Law.

The Supreme Court of Justice shall make the budgetary and technical adjustments in order to implement the tribunals designated in this Law.

Upon this Law entering into force, the judicial procedures provided for therein shall be applied to all pending proceedings, except those which are ready for the issuance of a final decision, which shall continue to be processed in accordance with the prior legislation.

The Executive Branch shall regulate, within the time limit of ninety days, all institutions that provide direct care to boys, girls and adolescents, within the frameworks of integral protection established by this Law.

The Secretariat of Social Welfare shall ensure that in the draft Budget of Income and Expenditures of the State, the necessary line items are incorporated to finance the creation and establishment of the institutions contemplated in this Law.

The Public Prosecutor's Office, the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation, the National Civil Police, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman shall adapt their corresponding departments or create them in accordance with the principles and provisions contained in this Law.

All legal and/or regulatory provisions relating to minors in whose text the word minor is used shall be understood as referring to childhood and adolescence, so that the terminology used is in accordance with this Code.

The Public Criminal Defense Service shall strengthen the specific unit for the defense of adolescents in conflict with criminal law.

The proceedings in which a final decision has been issued and a sanction remains pending enforcement shall be transferred to the Trial Court for Control of Execution of sanctions, for compliance with the provisions of this Law.

Proceedings concerning conduct that violates criminal law, pending issuance of a final decision, shall be transferred to the First Instance Tribunal for Adolescents in Conflict with Criminal Law designated by the Supreme Court of Justice, for control of the investigation and to the Public Prosecutor's Office to continue the same.

The National Commission for Children and Adolescents, as well as the commissions at the municipal level, shall be constituted within the six months following the entry into force of this Law.

The Commission on Women, Minors and the Family of the Congress of the Republic shall convene all social organizations for the formation of the National Commission, within a time limit of four months counted from the entry into force of this Law.

At the municipal level, the municipal corporations shall convene the social organizations of their municipality for the formation of the municipal commissions, within a time limit of three months counted from the entry into force of this Law.

Likewise, the community development councils shall ensure the protection, promotion and integral development of children and adolescents, in accordance with what is prescribed by this Law.

The Presidency of the Judicial Branch, through the respective unit, shall create and facilitate the logistical support necessary for the operation of the specialized tribunals created by this Law.

For the execution, control and effectiveness of its functions, the National Commission for Children and Adolescence shall submit its proposed internal regulations to the Presidency of the Republic for promulgation within the first six months of its formation.

The President of the Republic, in the exercise of his constitutional authority, shall issue, within a time limit of no more than ninety days from the entry into force of this Law, the specific regulation for this PUBLISH AND ENFORCE Decree, always observing the principle that the contents of these legal instruments are minimum social guarantees. The application and enforcement of PORTILLO CABRERA said regulation shall be the responsibility of the General Labor Inspectorate. The regulation shall contain, in consideration of the best interests of the adolescent, protective provisions particularly regarding: DR. JOSE ADOLFO REYES CALDERÓN

MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT

a)Working hours for adolescents fourteen years of age or older. LIC. J. LUIS MIJANGOS C.

GENERAL SECRETARY

b)Night work and overtime. PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC

c)Work in unhealthy or dangerous places

d)Rest periods and annual leave.

e)Apprenticeship work.

f)Register and accreditation of adolescents in the informal sector.

g)Equitable wages.

h)Social security regime.

i)Technical training on suitable schedules.

All institutions involved in the application of this Law shall implement periodic training processes directed at their personnel with respect to the content of the principles and procedures of this Law, which shall commence immediately upon the entry into force of this Law.