TheItalian Code of Criminal Procedure contains the rules governingcriminal procedure in every court in Italy. The Italian legal order adopted four codes since the Italian Unification. After the first two codes, in 1865 and 1913, theFascist Government established in 1930 a new code adopting aninquisitorial system. In 1988 the Italian Republic adopted a new code, that could be considered to be somewhere in between the inquisitorial system and theadversarial system.
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The main parties to a criminal trial are the judge,[1] the defendant,[2] and the prosecutor (thePubblico Ministero).[3]There are other parties that are optional, and they are: thePolizia Giudiziaria (Judiciary Police, a branch of the police whose duty is to help a prosecutor during his investigations),[4] theparte lesa (the injured party),[5] theresponsabile civile (civilly liable, who can be compelled to pay damages, if the defendant is not solvent) and thecivilmente obbligato per la pena pecuniaria (civilly liable, who can be compelled to pay the fines, if the defendant is not solvent).[6]
The Pubblico Ministero (the public prosecutor) is the one who, during the preliminary investigations, must look for evidence. Since he is a member of the Judiciary (technically, aMagistrato - Magistrate, though not aGiudice - Judge), he must try to find out the truth; that's why he must not only look for evidence that can lead to a conviction, but also that which may lead to an acquittal.[7]
When a Pubblico Ministero or a member of Polizia Giudiziaria becomes aware of the fact that a crime was committed, he must begin his investigation: in Italy, the public prosecutor has the duty to initiate criminal proceedings.[8]Theindagato (the person who is suspected to have committed the crime)[9] can charge a lawyer to investigate on that person's behalf, in order to prove innocence.[10]ThePubblico Ministero can appoint experts to carry out examinations; and, when the examination cannot be repeated (for instance, an autopsy), he must inform theindagato, so that he can appoint another expert, to ensure his right of defense.In the case of interrogations, of searches and of seizures, theindagato can ask that his lawyer be present.
During the preliminary investigations, a Judge only seldom intervenes. TheGiudice per le Indagini Preliminari (Judge for the Preliminary Investigations) controls the actions of thePubblico Ministero, when the personal rights of theindagato are at stake. Noindagato can be wiretapped, unless the Judge for the Preliminary Investigations has authorised it. All measures must be adopted by the Judge with an order, and he must also publish written explanations of his decisions.
Theprecautionary measures, adopted during the preliminary investigations or afterwards, aim at preventing the defendant from fleeing, from committing another crime or from destroying true evidence or creating false evidence. They cannot be adopted unless there is proof that the defendant has committed a crime (fumus commissi delicti). The Judge competent to adopt these measures is either the Judge for the Preliminary Investigations, the Judge of the Preliminary Hearing or the Judge of the Trial, according to the phase of the proceeding they are in, when thePubblico Ministero asks that the defendant's rights of movement be limited.
There are many kinds of precautionary measures:[11]
| Kind | Specification |
|---|---|
| Coercive measures | Prohibition to leave the country |
| Duty to present oneself to the nearest police station on given days | |
| Expulsion from one's family house | |
| Restraining orders | |
| Prohibition or duty to dwell in a given place | |
| House arrest | |
| Provisional arrest | |
| Interdictive measures | |
| Suspension of parental authority | |
| Suspension from a public office or service | |
| Temporary interdiction from practising given professional or entrepreneurial activities | |
| Real measures | Precautionary sequestrations |
The defendant or the prosecutor can appeal against the order of the Judge before theTribunale della Libertà (Court of Liberty). This court can uphold, modify or quash the Judge's order. Its decision can be appealed before theCorte di Cassazione (Court of Cassation).
TheCL (Court of Liberty) actually reviews all the evidence and must render its decision within ten days from the appeal.
TheCorte di Cassazione, on the contrary, cannot rule on merits, but only on correct procedure and correct interpretation of the law.
When a person who is neither anindagato (suspect) nor animputato (defendant), interrogated by the police or the prosecutor, reveals pieces of information that might lead to his incrimination, the interrogation must be immediately stopped, the person must be invited to nominate a lawyer and be warned that the information disclosed may render necessary an investigation. These self-incriminating statements are inadmissible in court.[12]
Thepolice or the prosecutor summon theindagato, during the preliminary investigations, and inform him precisely of the actions he is alleged to have committed (not yet technically a charge); they also inform him of the evidence so far gathered against him, if this is not detrimental to the investigations; theindagato is also invited to defend himself, if he so wishes; the police or the prosecutor can also ask him questions, that he may refuse to answer.[13]
Theindagato, when interrogated, must be free of all undue influence, both psychological and physical. He must be willing to provide information (animus confitendi). Thepolice or the prosecutor cannot use on theindagato any methods or techniques that may influence his right to self-determination or alter his memory or his capability to evaluate facts. This prohibition applies even if it was theindagato who asked that these methods or techniques be used. Before the interrogation begins, theindagato must be informed that his statements can be used against him in court; that he can choose not to answer the question, but that the investigations will proceed nonetheless; that, if he provides information concerning someone else's criminal responsibility, he will assume, as far as this responsibility is concerned, the office of witness.[14]
If evidence should be gathered in violation of these principles, it would be inadmissible in court.
When the Prosecutor deems to have gathered enough information to make his case and before summoning the suspect[15] before the Judge of the Preliminary Hearing, he must serve a notice to thesuspect, in which the latter is informed of thecrime he is alleged to have committed and that all the evidence gathered up to that moment can be examined by the suspect and by his attorney.
By this notice, the suspect is also informed that he can, within twenty days, file a defensivebrief, present the results of the defensive inquiry, appear before the Prosecutor to make spontaneous statements or to ask the Prosecutor to question him; the suspect can also ask the Prosecutor to carry out specific acts of inquiry.
The Prosecutor may comply within thirty days; he must, however, question the suspect, if he so asks.
If the Prosecutor does not serve this notice, thedecreto di rinvio al giudizio (indictment) is null and void.[16]
When the preliminary investigations are over, if the Pubblico Ministero thinks that the evidence he gathered could not justify a conviction, he mustarchiviare thenotitia criminis (he must drop the charges). If, on the contrary, he deems he can make his case, he summons the individual, whose status, because of this summons, now changes from that of "suspect" ("indagato") to that of "defendant" ("imputato"),[17] to appear before the Judge of the Preliminary Hearing (JPH).[18]
Before the JPH, thePubblico Ministero presents all the evidence he has gathered so far; the defendant can make his case and try to prove his innocence. The JPH, if convinced of the defendant's innocence or that the evidence gathered would not be enough to justify a guilty verdict, passes a sentence ofnon luogo a procedere (no grounds to proceed).
Should new evidence be found, the Prosecutor may ask the Judge for the Preliminary Investigations (JPI) that this judgement be revoked. During the hearing, before the JPI, the defendant can be assisted by his lawyer. If the sentence is revoked, the Prosecutor must, once again, summon the defendant before the JPH.
If, on the contrary, the JPH thinks that the evidence gathered so far is enough to justify a guilty verdict, he issues adecreto (order or decree[19]) ofrinvio al giudizio (indictment).
All the evidence gathered so far is, then, expelled from the defendant's file, with the exception of those pieces of evidence that cannot be repeated, such as the initial autopsy or a search and seizure, or that were gathered in the defendant's presence and in that of his lawyer or his experts.
During thedibattimento (trial), both the Prosecutor and the defendant try to make their case.
Article 111 of the Italian Constitution states that
2. Trials are based on equal confrontation of the parties before an independent and impartial judge. The law has to define reasonable time limits for the proceedings.
3. In criminal trials, the law provides for timely and confidential information of the accused regarding the nature and reasons of charges brought against them; they are granted the time and means for their defense; they have the right to question those who testify against them or to have them questioned; those who may testify in favor of the accused must be summoned and examined under the same conditions granted to the prosecution; any evidence in favor of the accused must be acknowledged; the accused may rely on the help of an interpreter if they do not understand or speak the language of the proceedings.
4. In criminal trials, evidence may only be established according to the principle of confrontation between parties. No defendant may be proven guilty on the basis of testimony given by witnesses who freely and purposely avoided cross-examination by the defense.
During the trial, all the witnesses must bear testimony once again, as must the experts. Plus, all the experiments, conducted during the preliminary investigations, must be repeated as possible and so on, to allow the defendant to actually participate in the process offormazione della prova (proof formation).
If theGiudice del Dibattimento (Judge of the Trial) is convinced beyond any reasonable doubts the defendant is guilty, the Judge must convict him; if not, the Judge must acquit. The Judge must also publish written explanations of his decisions.
The defendant can be called to the stand, but he may refuse to bear testimony[20] or he may refuse to answer some questions. He can also lie. Since he does not take an oath and since he is not technically a witness, if a defendant tells a lie, he is not committingperjury.
A defendant can also choose to make spontaneous statements to the Judge; he can tell whatever he wishes to tell and can choose not to answer any questions. In this case too, a defendant can lie without consequences.
For a defendant to be convicted, the Judge must beinternally convinced (Italian law requires the Judge'sintimo convincimento); because of that, there are no rules that predetermine the weight to be attributed to any given piece of evidence, so evencredible admissions [of guilt] can do no more than reduce the amount of extrinsic evidence necessary for a finding of guilt.[citation needed]
Before the beginning of the trial phase, the parties file a brief, detailing all evidence they want to present – the parties have to indicate by name every witness and precisely what these will be asked –; both the defendant and the prosecutor can cross-examine each other's witnesses. The Judge may choose not to admit any testimony that appears patently superfluous, reject irrelevant or improper or irregular questions – such asleading questions – and also ask questions to the witnesses and experts.
The Judge can also, but only when absolutely necessary, order additional evidence to be taken.[citation needed]
Italy does not try anyone by ajury of peers: everyone is judged by professional judges or by a panel of judges (three or five or nine). The only exception to the use of professional judges is in theCorte d'Assise, which is made up of eight judges: two are professional, six arelay (they are calledGiudici Popolari or Popular Judges, where 'popular' means 'of the people'). All wear a sash in thenational colours. They are not technicallyjurors, as the term is understood in Anglo-Saxonjurisprudence. In Italian,Giudice (Judge) refers both to the eight of them together as a collective body[21] and to each of them considered separately as a member of that body.
Since Lay Judges are not jurors, they cannot be excused, unless there are grounds that would justify an objection to a Judge. Also, they are notsequestered, because a trial often lasts too long to restrict travel: an Italian trial, including the preliminary investigations, preliminary hearing, trial and appeals, can last several years. To keep a citizen — who continues to work, while serving as a Popular Judge — sequestered for years would be unfeasible.
| Judge | Specification | Members of the Court | Cognizance | Sentence | Appeal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justice of the peace |
| Petty offences, such asslander,libel orcriminal threatening |
| Tribunale monocratico | |
| Tribunale | Monocratico |
| All crimes that are not within the cognizance of theJustice of the peace or of theCorte d'Assise |
| Court of Appeals |
| Collegiale |
|
| |||
| Corte d'Assise |
| Major felonies, such asmurder, massacre,terrorism |
| Corte d'Assise d'Appello |
Both the defendant and the prosecutor can appeal against the judgement before the Corte d'Appello (Court of Appeals), that will retry the defendant. The judgement passed by the Court of Appeals can be appealed, again, before the Court of Cassation, that cannot rule on merits. Both the Court of Appeals and the Court of Cassation must examine and rule on every appeal. They can uphold, modify or quash the sentence.
The prosecutor can appeal all judgements issued by the Court of first instance — this means that a not-guilty verdict can be appealed and overturned too -. The Court of Appeals can hand down a more serious penalty than the Court of instance.
Only when the defendant alone has appealed the judgement, the Court of Appeals cannot issue a more serious sentence.
| Judge | Members of the Court | Cognizance | Appeal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tribunale monocratico |
| Appeals against judgements rendered by aJustice of the peace | Court of Cassation |
| Court of Appeals |
| Appeals against judgements rendered by a Tribunale | |
| Corte d'Assise d'Appello |
| Appeals against judgements rendered by aCorte d'Assise |
The Court of Cassation cannot rule on the merits of a case, so, when quashing a verdict issued by a lower Court, it is possible that the members of the Court realize that further fact-finding is required to reach a final judgement.
In these cases, the Court quashes the previous judgement, but it remands the case to another criminal division of the Appellate Court that issued the appealed decision or, if it is not possible, to a criminal division of the nearest Appellate Court.
The Judgead quem (the one the case is remanded to) can tryde novo the defendant, but must conform to the contingent points of law applied by the Court of Cassation. The verdict issued by the Judgead quem isappealable before the Court of Cassation.
The following are the only verdicts that a Judge can pass at the end of a trial.
| Verdict | Specification | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guilty (colpevole) | Conviction (condanna) | The defendant is found guilty and is, thereby,sentenced by the Judge | |
| Not guilty (non colpevole) | Acquittal (assoluzione) | Perché il fatto non sussiste ("because the action does not exist") | Because the action allegedly committed by the defendant never took place |
| Perché l'imputato non lo ha commesso ("because the accused did not commit it") | Because the action allegedly committed by the defendant was actually committed by another party | ||
| Perché il fatto non costituisce reato ("because the action does not constitute an offence") | Because the action was committed by the defendant, but is not considered a crime, for he wasjustified (e.g.self defense) | ||
| Perché il fatto non è previsto dalla Legge come reato ("because the action is not included by the Law as an offence") | Because the action was committed by the defendant, but is no longer considered to be a crime by the law | ||
| Perché l'imputato non è punibile ("because the accused is not punishable") | Because the action was committed by the defendant, but the defendant is not punishable for some reason, such as beinglegally insane or other reasons. | ||
| Non doversi procedere ("one must not proceed") | There is a cause that prevents the Judge from actually deciding whether the defendant was guilty[23] (e.g. anamnesty has been passed, thestatute of limitations has expired, the injured party did not submit acriminal complaint etc.) | ||
The Italian criminal system has a statute limiting the time for prosecution of all crimes, apart from felonies punishable bylife imprisonment, to a period of time equalling the maximum penalty provided for by law, which cannot, though, be less than six years fordelitti (felonies) and four years forcontravvenzioni (misdemeanours).
It is not enough that the criminal suit be started before the statute of limitations runs out: it is the definitive sentence (possibly involving three trials) that must be handed down before the term expires.
There is also another statute of limitations, limiting the time for enforcing a penalty, to a period of time provided for by law: twice the time to be served, or ten years in the case of a fine, when dealing with a felony; five years, when dealing with misdemeanours.
Generally, every criminal proceeding follows the same pattern: there are the preliminary investigations, there is a preliminary hearing, the trial and the appeals. It may occur, though, that one of these phases is not present.
When the defendant wasarrestedin flagrante delicto, the prosecutor can order that he be conducted before the judge of the trial, within thirty days of thearrest, if he is still in remedial custody; if he was freed, the prosecutor summons the defendant to appear before the court.[24] If there is no need to carry out any further investigations, the defendant will be tried immediately.[25]
The prosecutor and the defendant can appeal the judgment.
When it appears manifest that theindagato has committed the crime, if this does not seriously compromise the investigations, and when theindagato has been interrogated, or, summoned before the public prosecutor, has not appeared, or when theimputato is under provisional arrest, the public prosecutor can apply to the Judge for the Preliminary Investigations for the immediate trial.[26]
This application must be submitted within 90 days of the beginning of the investigations.
Theimputato too can apply for the immediate trial.
If the Judge for the Preliminary Hearing grants this request, the Preliminary Hearing does not take place.
When the public prosecutor deems that the defendant should just be handed down afine (even if inflicted in lieu of a prison sentence),[27] he may apply, within one year of the beginning of the investigations, to the judge for the preliminary investigations for a criminal decree of conviction.[28]
The application must indicate the evidence gathered so far and the punishment considered adequate, which can be diminished to up to half the penalty imposed by law. The judge can return the documents to the public prosecutor or inflict the punishment requested.
The defendant can impugn the decree within fifteen days of the service of the decree. If this happens, the defendant is summoned before thejudge of the preliminary hearing.
In his criminal complaint, the injured party can declare that he does not want the defendant to be convicted by decree.
When new evidence is discovered that by itself or together with that presented during the trial might justify an acquittal, the convict, his next of kin, hisguardian, his heir (if the convict is dead) or theProcuratore Generale presso la Corte d'Appello (the Public Prosecutor attached to the Court of Appeals) may apply to the Court of Appeals for a review of trial. The Court decidesde plano with anordinanza if the application is receivable; if it deems it is not, the losing party can appeal theordinanza before theCorte di Cassazione.
If the Court of Appeals, or the Court of Cassation, deems that the application is receivable, the second part of the review begins before the Court of Appeals itself. During the new trial, the Court reexamines all evidence and can acquit the defendant or uphold his conviction; the verdict is, thenappealable before the Court of Cassation. Even if an application for review was turned down before, the convict can apply again, so long as he presents new evidence. A "not guilty" verdict, which has become irrevocable (by being upheld by the Court of Cassation) can never be reviewed.
Other cases of review are as follows: