Non-discrimination of elderly people in Criminal proceedings: a European overview

The article is aimed at verifying whether there is discrimination against the elderly in the context of criminal proceedings at the European level. To this end, the concepts of discrimination (distinguishing between direct discrimination and indirect discrimination) and the elderly are analysed. Furthermore, the European legal framework on the subject of discrimination is explored, focusing separately on the legal sources of the European Union and on those of the Council of Europe. Based on this, it is evaluated whether the criminal proceedings show cases of direct discrimination and/or indirect discrimination against the elderly. The article concludes that forms of direct discrimination of the elderly do not derive from the European legal framework. However, forms of indirect discrimination can derive from the same legal framework. Specifically, the elderly could be victims of indirect discrimination in relation to: a) reporting a crime; b) the right to obtain a judgement; c) participation in hearings; and d) incurring the costs of one’s own defence.