Measures as painful as punishments. The interdiction for sex offenders to access or practice professions in contact with minors

Abstract

Since 2015, everyone convicted for sexual offences faces an interdiction to access or practice professions or activities that entail regular contact with minors. This prohibition takes place automatically after a criminal conviction, connected with criminal records, lasting for as long as 30 years. However, it is not foreseen in the Criminal Code, it is not imposed by a judge and is not considered a penalty nor a security measure, but rather an administrative police measure. As a result, it is foreseen in an ordinary law and developed by a Royal Decree, challenging key principles such as legality. Moreover, this disqualification corresponds to already existing penalties that differ in its length. This amounts to yet another example of defective legislative drafting, as well as a new confirmation of the punitivism embraced by the legislator which, ultimately, shows current challenges to key penal principles such as the reintegration principle.