BOOK I-GENERAL PART
TITLE III-JURIDICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE ACT
CHAPTER II-PENALTIES
SECTION II
SUSPENSION OF THE EXECUTION OF IMPRISONMENT
Article 50
Prerequisites and duration
1- The court suspends the execution of an imprisonment sentence of no more than 3 years, if,
taking into consideration the agent’s personality, the conditions of his living, his conduct previous
to and after the crime, and the crime circumstances, it concludes that the mere censure of the act
and the threat of imprisonment will achieve the aims of punishment.
2- If the court considers it convenient and appropriate to the achievement of the aims of
punishment, it subordinates the suspension of the sentence of imprisonment, in the terms of the
following articles, to the fulfilment of duties or to the observance of rules of conduct, or determines
that the suspension will be accompanied by probation regime.
3- The duties, rules of conduct and the probation regime may be cumulatively imposed.
4- The condemnatory decision always specifies the reasons for suspension and its conditions.
5- The period for the suspension is fixed between 1 and 5 years counting from the time the sentence had become definitive.
Article 51
Duties
1- The suspension of the execution of the imprisonment sentence may be subjected to the
fulfilment of duties imposed upon the convict with the purpose of repairing the damages of the
crime, namely:
a) To pay in a certain time-limit the compensation owed to the victim, in whole or in the part that the court considers possible, or to assure its payment by means of a suitable guarantee;
b) To give the victim an appropriate moral satisfaction;
c) To give a sum of money or to make payment equivalent in kind to public or private institutions of social solidarity.
2- The duties imposed must in no case represent obligations to the convict, the fulfilment of which is not reasonable to demand.
3- The duties imposed may be modified until the end of the period of suspension, whenever relevant supervening circumstances occur or of which the court only later has knowledge.
Article 52
Rules of conduct
1- During the time of the suspension, the court may impose upon the convict the fulfilment of rules of conduct designed to ease his reintegration in society, namely:
a) not exerting certain professions;
b) not frequenting certain environments or places;
c) not living in certain places or regions;
d) not accompanying, putting up or receiving certain persons;
e) not frequenting certain associations or not participating in certain meetings;
f) not having in his possession objects capable of facilitating the commitment of crimes;
g) to appear periodically before the court, the social reinsertion expert or non-police entities.
2- Once obtained the previous consent of the convicted, the court may also determine his subjection to medical treatment or to a cure in an appropriated institution.
3- The prescriptions in numbers 2 and 3 of the previous article are correspondingly applicable.
Article 53
Suspension with probation
1- The court may determine the suspension to be accompanied by probation, if it is considered convenient and proper to facilitate the reintegration of the convict in society.
2- Probation is based upon an individual social re-adaptation plan, carried on with the support and checking by the social reintegration services, during the period of suspension.
3- Probation is, as a rule, to be applied when the imprisonment sentence has been suspended, if the penalty is superior to 1 year, and the convict is under 25 years of age at the time of the crime.
Article 54
Individual social re-adaptation plan
1- The individual social re-adaptation plan is communicated to the convict and should obtain, whenever possible, the convict’s agreement.
2- The court may impose the duties and rules of conduct referred to in articles 51 and 52 and also other obligations that have some interest to the re-adaptation plan and to the sentiment of social
responsibility of the convict, namely:
a) To obey the summons of the magistrate in charge of the execution and of the social reinsertion expert;
b) To receive the visits of the social reinsertion expert and communicate or grant information and documents of his means of subsistence at his disposal;
c) To inform the social reinsertion expert about residence and employment changes, as well as on any travel of more than 8 days and the predictable date of return;
d) To obtain previous authorization from the magistrate in charge of the execution for journeys abroad.
Article 55
Failure to fulfil the suspension conditions
If, during the period of suspension, the convict guiltily stops the fulfilling of any of the imposed duties or rules of conduct, or does not fit the re-adaptation plan, the court may:
a) Give a solemn warning;
b) Demand guarantees to the fulfilment of the obligations that condition the suspension;
c) Impose new duties or rules of conduct, or add increased demands to the re-adaptation plan;
d) Extend the period of suspension up to half the initial fixed term, but for no less than 1 year and not exceeding the maximum suspension term prescribed in number 5 of article 50.
Article 56
Revocation of suspension
1- The suspension of execution of the imprisonment sentence shall be revoked whenever during its term, the convict:
a) Grossly or repeatedly infringes the imposed duties or rules of conduct or the individual social re- adaptation plan; or
b) Commits a crime for which he is posteriously sentenced, and shows that the aims that were at the basis of the suspension were not able, thereby, to be achieved.
2- The revocation implies the enforcement of the imprisonment penalty fixed in the judgement, without being possible for the convict to demand the restitution of any instalments he had paid.
Article 57
Sentence extinction
1- The sentence is declared extinct if, at the end of the suspension period, there are no motives that
may lead to its revocation.
2- If, at the end of the suspension period, there is a process pending because of a crime that may determine its revocation or a proceeding for breach of fulfilling duties, rules of conduct or individual social re-adaptation plan, the sentence is only declared extinct when the process or proceeding have ended without the revocation or prorogation of the suspension period being ordered.
Determination of sentence - national proceedings
EDIT.