A prison for juveniles will not open in Luxembourg until 2030 at the earliest

The project for a new 30-bed prison centre for juveniles will not be completed before 2030. This was stated by Claudia Monti, Luxembourg's Ombudsman, during the presentation of the report on the future structure. She noted that the first phase of the project may not be operational until 2027 at the earliest, while full construction will take at least three more years.

The centre will be built in the eastern part of the country, on the site of the existing Unisec isolation unit, which currently has only 12 beds. In addition to the erection of additional buildings, the project requires the renaturalisation of a local creek, which also delays the implementation timeline.

The project aims to eliminate the unconstitutional practice of incarcerating juveniles in adult prisons. Since 2020, at least 30 adolescents have passed through such institutions, despite the fact that international law categorically prohibits such mixing of contingents.

A bill to create a separate criminal law for juveniles was introduced in Parliament in 2022, but real change takes time and infrastructural solutions. The new centre is intended to be the first step in creating a full-fledged penal enforcement system adapted to the age and needs of adolescents.