Peoples’ ‘Decent Work’ and ‘Capacitation’ in the Detention System

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to assess if the “capacitational” approach, which supposedly the recent reform of the Italian prison system, actually translates into effective measures or, at least, it can have effective interpretative consequences with special reference to inmates’ labour. Methodology: The analysis of inmates’ labour in the Italian legal context takes place within the ILO’s “decent work” context and builds on the capability theory and its application to labour law. Findings: The analysis shows positives and negatives of inmates’ labour in Italy in the prism of capability and the difficulties faced by the implementation of the practices. Originality: While the use of the capability approach in labour law is not new, the declination of analysis focused on inmates’ labour and framed in the context of ILO decent work principle allows casting a new light on the penitentiary reform.