Parot doctrine

The term Parot Doctrine - Spanish: Doctrina Parot - refers to a 2006 Spanish Supreme Court decision to deny persons convicted of serious crimes specific rights granted by Spanish law which serve to limit or reduce the maximum allowed term of imprisonment.

The law

Spain is a member of the European Union and can not change the application of lawful penalty after the crime has been committed which regulation the Supreme Court breached.

Article 70 of the Spanish Criminal Code of 1973 prescribed a maximum length of physical imprisonment of up to 30 years (there is no sentencing limit and Henri "Unai" Parot was sentenced to a total of 4,797 years).

This 30-year maximum could be further reduced by good behaviour and participation in rehabilitative measures such as work and study. The central argument of that piece of legislation was, that denying prisoners at least some hope of release is a cruel punishment and likely to cause the offender to become violent and unmanageable. In later years the maximum prison term was extended to 40 years.

The Parot doctrine

Henri Parot was sentenced in 1990 to serve several thousands of years for numerous murders and offences committed as a member of the armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization ETA, which is considered a terrorist organization by the Spanish government.

The Supreme Court reviewed his case and, in a judgement of 28 February 2006, ruled that for crimes committed before the current penal code came into effect in 1995, reductions would no longer apply to the accumulative maximum sentence of 30 years, but to the absolute total term of the sentence.

As he was the first person to be awarded what was in effect a life sentence beyond the statutory maximum period of imprisonment so the term Doctrina Parot emerged.

Successful appeal against Parot doctrine

Inés del Río Prada, another member of ETA, was sentenced in 1997 in a similar context as Parot to serve 3828 years. Under the 1973 law she was eligible for release in 2008. The Supreme court applied the Parot Doctrine and so ordered her to be detained in prison until 2017.

Inés del Río appealed to the European Court of Human Rights. The court in Strasbourg ruled in 2012 that the continuous detention of her was a violation of articles 5 and 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which cover the right to no punishment without law, and the right to liberty and security, which essentially means that legal standards were applied to her which were not in force when she committed the offences. Spain appealed, but the European Court confirmed its decision in October 2013 and demanded the immediate release of Inés del Río and ordered the Spanish government to pay € 30,000 (approximately $41,000, or £25,400) in compensation to her.

This ruling is binding and Spain committed to abide by it. Dozens of other convicts were affected by this ruling.

References

• European Court of Human Rights condemns Spain over Eta case, BBC, 2013-10-21.
• ETA terrorists poised to walk free after European court strikes down “Parot doctrine”, El País, 2013-10-21.
• What is Spain's 'Parot Doctrine'?, EITB, 2013-10-03.