Doc. 9644 revised

3 April 2003

The Italian law on legitimate suspicion

Motion for a resolution

presented by Mr Laakso and others

1.       The Assembly is concerned about the adoption by the Italian Chamber of Deputies on 5 November 2002 of the law on legitimate suspicion, known as the “Cirami law”. This law permits an accused person to invoke a “legitimate suspicion”, in other words the partiality of judges, in order to have a case removed from before a particular court and transferred to a different tribunal. This law, furthermore, will have retroactive effect and will be applicable to trials already under way.

2.       The use of this law will permit accused persons – and in first place, the head of Government and several of his associates charged with corruption, whose trials are under way before the Milan courts – to demand the transfer and thus the postponement of their trials, and ultimately to escape form justice.

3.       Such a law creates grave dangers for the functioning of justice and for the separation of powers on which democracy is based.

4.       The Assembly therefore asks that a rapporteur be charged with undertaking a study of the consequences of this law for the functioning of justice and the separation of powers in Italy.

Signed : ¹

Laakso, Finland, UEL

Behrendt, Germany, SOC

Christodoulides, Cyprus, UEL

Durrieu, France, SOC

Eörsi, Hungary, LDR

Ferić-Vac, Croatia, SOC

Gross, Switzerland, SOC

Isohookana-Asunmaa, Finland, LDR

Jurgens, Netherlands, SOC

Lekberg, Sweden, SOC

Lloyd, United Kingdom, SOC

Oliynyk, Ukraine, UEL

Wohlwend, Liechtenstein, EPP

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group