The Italian Parliament has passed the penal reform law proposed by Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, with the final approval coming from the Chamber of Deputies (199 in favor, 102 against). The law abolishes the crime of abuse of office, introduces stricter privacy protections for intercepted communications, and mandates collective decisions for pretrial detention, among other changes.
Minister Nordio celebrated the reform, stating it strengthens protections for defendants and alleviates the fears of public administrators regarding decision-making. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani supported the reform, emphasizing it is not about impunity but enabling effective governance without undue legal threats.
However, critics, including former anti-mafia prosecutor and current 5 Star Movement deputy Federico Cafiero De Raho, argue that the law weakens justice and reduces citizens’ protections against public power abuses. There are concerns about the practical implementation of collective decision-making in pretrial detentions and the adequacy of judicial staffing, despite a planned increase of 250 judges.
The reform’s key provision, the abolition of abuse of office, may conflict with EU directives on corruption, although Nordio claims a balance has been found. Additionally, the law’s limits on appeals could face constitutional challenges, reminiscent of issues with the earlier “Pecorella law.”
Key Points of the New Penal Reform Law
Crimes/1: Abolished Abuse of Office
The law eliminates the crime of abuse of office from the Penal Code. The government argues that this crime resulted in few convictions but numerous investigations, creating a defensive bureaucracy among public administrators. Despite a partial reintroduction of penalties for financial abuses by public officials in a recent decree, there remains a conflict with future EU anti-corruption directives.
Crimes/2: Reduced Influence Peddling
The crime of influence peddling is redefined to limit its scope, reversing changes from the 2020 anti-corruption law. The mediator’s relationship with the public official must be real and effectively used, and any promised benefit must be economic. The act of receiving or promising money or economic benefits must aim to reward a public official or accomplish another illicit mediation.
Interceptions/1: New Limits on Publishing Intercepts
The law prohibits the publication of intercepted communications unless included in a judge’s decision or used in court. Copies of these communications cannot be released to anyone other than the parties involved or their lawyers. It also extends protections to all forms of communication between defendants and their lawyers, barring judicial authority from acquiring them unless they are crucial evidence.
Interceptions/2: Excluding Unrelated Parties
The law mandates that sensitive personal data of individuals unrelated to the case should not be included in official transcripts. There is an obligation to exclude recordings and transcripts concerning these individuals unless proven relevant. The law enhances the prosecutor’s oversight of how police draft these documents and requires judges to exclude sensitive data unless necessary for investigations.
Pretrial Detention: Decision by Three Judges
The law introduces a requirement for a preliminary interrogation of suspects before applying pretrial detention measures. Notifications for this interrogation must be given at least five days in advance. Additionally, decisions on pretrial detention will now be made by a panel of three judges, rather than a single judge. To support this, the judiciary will be expanded by 250 judges.
Appeals: Return of Inappealability
The law reintroduces the prohibition for prosecutors to appeal first-degree acquittals, a measure from the Berlusconi era. This prohibition does not apply to serious crimes, aligning with past Constitutional Court decisions. The unappealable crimes include minor offenses such as rioting, serious traffic injuries, aggravated theft, and fraud. The law also repeals a requirement from the Cartabia reform concerning the simultaneous submission of a domicile declaration with an appeal.
Fulvio Graziotto