National Guarantor for the Rights of People Detained or Deprived of their Liberty and Vulnerability of the Elderly

The article reflects on the institution of Italian National Guarantor of the rights of persons detained or deprived of their liberty (NGDL), limited to the health area and, in detail, to the protection of liberty of the elderly population. The study starts with the description of duties and functions of the Guarantor as foreseen by the institutive norm; it then reconstructs the debate on the theme of ageism and illustrates the Italian care’s system. The joining link between these two parts is determined in the textual study of the annual reports to the Parliament and in the examination of the visits carried out at residences for the elderly. This path will show that the role of guaranteeing remains incomplete. What firstly appeared to be an opportunity to strengthen the mechanisms of protection of various conditions of fragility, at the moment, needs a further period of growth and consolidation.