RIGHTS EXPERT EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT AMENDMENTS TO ITALIAN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE

9 August 2002




The Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Dato’ Param Cumaraswamy, has expressed concern about proposed procedural changes to the judicial system in Italy.

In a 2 August 2002 letter to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Special Rapporteur wrote that he had been informed about a proposal to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to allow for trials to be transferred to a different court on the basis of “legitimate suspicions” that a trial could be compromised by serious local circumstances. The amendment would apply to all cases, including those that are currently before the court, and could also be raised again in cases where a previous request for transfer had been rejected.

The Special Rapporteur expressed his concern that these changes could add to the long delays that already characterize the Italian judicial system, and could be used by accused persons to further delay trial processes. This, he noted, would contribute to public dissatisfaction with the operation of the judicial system. The Special Rapporteur drew the Government’s attention to the observations and recommendations contained in the preliminary report of his mission to Italy in March 2002
(E/CN.4/2002/72/Add.3).

The Special Rapporteur said he further feared that if this law was passed, and applied retrospectively, the prominent politicians facing charges before the Milan courts could take advantage of the amendment and further delay due process in these cases. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur recalled the following preliminary recommendation made in his initial report:

“30. The prominent politicians facing charges before the Milan courts should respect the principles of due process and should not be seen as delaying that process. Though they, like any other citizen, are entitled to all the rights available to the defence, because they are in positions of power delaying the judicial process in their cases would be perceived with suspicion and could be detrimental to the integrity of the justice system.”




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