persons,258 for example in: Argentina,259 Bolivia,260 Canada,261 Chile,262 Colombia,263 Costa
Rica,264 Ecuador,265 El Salvador,266 Guatemala,267 Honduras,268 Mexico,269 Nicaragua,270
Panama,271 Paraguay,272 Peru273 and Venezuela.274
181.
Furthermore, although there are substantial variations in the case law of each
State in the region, the domestic courts have addressed the issue of protection of prisoners’
Those rules establish specific obligations of the administrative or judicial authorities, for example: a) the
obligation to treat prisoners with the respect warranted by the dignity inherent to every human being; b) right to
regular and timely medical care, free of charge; c) the duty of prison authorities to carry out a medical, psychological
and social assessment of the convict upon admission to prison, preparing diagnoses and the criminological study to
determine his physical and mental condition and, where appropriate, adopt the corresponding measures, all of which
is entered in the clinical history of the convict; d) all remand and detention centers must provide permanent general
medicine services, dentistry, psychology and psychiatry, each with the respective team; e) in cases of serious illness,
or upon request, detainees have the right to be assisted by private doctors or to receive treatment in public and/or
private institutions, after a favorable report by the medical examiner and other authorities, with authorization from
the corresponding judge or other authorities; f) every sentence shall be served under the strict control of the
enforcement judge, who will implement the rulings of the Judgment, and ensure adequate compliance by the prison
system; g) the control of general conditions in prisons shall be under the responsibility of the administrative
authorities, with the proper supervision of the competent judge; h) the transfer of prisoners from one facility to
another or to a medical center may only be authorized by a competent judge in serious cases requiring urgent
attention or specialized medical care that cannot be provided by the prison´s medical unit; i) in emergency situations,
the prison authorities may order the pertinent transfers.
258
See: Law for the Enforcement Custodial Sentences of Argentina, and Art. 10 of the Criminal Code, replaced
by Art. 4 of Law N° 26.472, B.O. 20/01/2009). Available at http://www.infoleg.gov.ar/infolegInternet/annexs/1500019999/16546/texact.htm#3
259
260
Law No. 2298, on Criminal Enforcement and Supervision, of December 20, 2001, Articles 90–97 and 196.
Federal Corrections and Conditional Release Act, approved on June 18, 1992 and amended on July 23, 2015,
Sections 86-87.
261
Regulations for Prison Establishments of August 21, 1998, Articles 6, 34 and 35. Available at
http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Security/citizensecurity/chile/laws/Dec518.pdf
262
Law No. 1709 of 20 January 2014, arts. 65, 66, 67, 85, 87 that modify Articles 104 (Access to Health Care),
105 (Prison medical services), 106 (Medical assistance for inmates with special health conditions), 139 (Special
Release), and 145 (Council for Evaluation and Treatment) of Law 65 of 1993; Law 1122 of January 9, 2007, Art. 14
m). See also the Technical Manual for the Provision of Health Services CAPRECOM-INPEC 2011 on the "Prison Medical
Services.”
263
Code of Criminal Procedure of Costa Rica, Art. 461 (Sickness in convicts); and Technical Regulations of the
Penitentiary System, Art. 13 (Admission phase).
264
265
Organic Law of the Criminal Code of Ecuador, Arts. 4, 12.1 and 12.12.
266
General Regulations of the Prison Law, El Salvador, November 16, 2000, Arts. 275 to 285.
Law of the Penitentiary System of Guatemala, of 5 October 2006, Art. 14, and the Regulations of the Prison
System of Guatemala of December 31, 2011, Arts. 12 and 13.
267
268
Law for the Rehabilitation of Offenders of Honduras, of March 13, 1985, Arts. 29 to 34.
See, for example, Law of Enforcement of Custodial and Restrictive Penalties of the State of Mexico, of
December 26, 1985, Arts. 30, 32, 36 and 37.
269
270
Law No. 473 of the Prison System and Enforcement of Sentences of Nicaragua, arts. 38, 43, and 91-94.
271
Criminal Code of the Republic of Panama, Articles 108 and 110.
272
Penitentiary Law of Paraguay, of October 2, 1970, Arts. 19 and 73 - 78.
273
Code of Criminal Enforcement of Peru, Arts. 6 and 76 - 82.
274
Law of the Penitentiary System of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, of June 19, 2000, Arts. 35-42 and
77-80.
56