6 THE ITALIAN LAW JOURNAL NO. 2 (2020) Irreducible Life Sentences and Rehabilitation. by Alessandra Santangelo The comparison between the recent Strasbourg Court case law and the Italian Constitutional Court judgments on irreducible life sentences pinpoints the emphasis on rehabilitation as prominent penological ground for incarceration, enhancing human dignity both at the national and supranational level. The judgment in Viola v Italy highlights that the domestic penitentiary regime suffers a structural problem which jeopardises the prisoners’ hope for future release. In this framework, the reluctant attitude of national legislator forces the judiciary to adopt substitute remedies: in order to comply with the ‘Viola doctrine’, irreducible life sentences are gradually assuming a different outline eventually consistent with the Constitution itself. DOI 10.23815/2421-2156.ITALJ ISSN 2421-2156
A Point of Juncture Between Strasbourg and Rome
