Justice reform, what it provides

The Council of Ministers unanimously approved the Cartabia reform on the criminal trial. We see all the changes that will take place and the different measures. Timing of the investigations In the reform of the criminal trial drawn up by the Minister of Justice Marta Cartabia and approved by the Council of Ministers, the terms of maximum duration of investigations have been reshaped in relation to the seriousness of the crime. Furthermore, upon expiry of the maximum duration of the investigations, without prejudice to the specific needs for the protection of investigative secrecy, a mechanism for the discovery of the documents is envisaged, to guarantee the suspect and the victim, also to avoid the prescription of the crime associated with an intervention by the judge for investigations for preliminary investigations and in the event of a standstill of the proceedings. The current discipline has been confirmed, which provides for the stop to the limitation period after the first instance sentence (both in the case of conviction and in the event of acquittal). Furthermore, a maximum duration of two years is established for appeal processes and one year for those of the Supreme Court. In summary, the amendment to the bill on the criminal trial, proposed by the Minister of Justice Marta Cartabia on the issue of prescription, and approved by the CDM. There is the possibility of a further extension of one year on appeal and of six months in the Supreme Court for complex processes relating to serious crimes, such as simple criminal conspiracy, mafia-type, drug trafficking, sexual violence, corruption, extortion) . Once these terms have elapsed, the impossibility of proceeding occurs. Prescribable offenses are excluded, those punished with life imprisonment.
Delegation of restorative justice Delegation to the Government to regulate restorative justice in an organic way, in compliance with a European directive (2012/29 / EU) and in the interest of both the victim and the perpetrator of the crime. This is foreseen by one of the amendments to the criminal trial reform bill presented by the Minister of Justice, Marta Cartabia, and approved by the CDM. Access to restorative justice programs is provided at every stage of the procedure, on a voluntary basis and with the free and informed consent of the victim and the perpetrator and the positive evaluation of the judge on the usefulness of the program in the criminal field. It also provides for the retractability of consent, the confidentiality of the statements made during the restorative justice program and their unusability in criminal proceedings. The request for indictment The prosecutor may request the indictment of the suspect only when the elements acquired allow a “reasonable prediction of conviction”. This is foreseen by one of the amendments to the criminal trial reform bill presented by the Minister of Justice, Marta Cartabia, and approved by the Council of Ministers. appeal against the sentences of conviction and acquittal. This is what the amendments to the criminal trial reform bill presented by the Minister of Justice, Marta Cartabia, and approved by the Council of Ministers envisage. The text incorporates the jurisprudential principle of the inadmissibility of the appeal due to non-specific reasons. There are limited cases of final judgments of first instance, for example in the case of acquittal for crimes punishable with a monetary penalty and conviction to work in the public utility. Criteria of priority The offices of the public prosecutor, to ensure the effective and uniform exercise of the criminal action, within the framework of general criteria indicated by law by the Parliament, must identify transparent and predetermined priorities, to be indicated in the organizational projects of the Public Prosecutors’ offices and to be submitted to the approval of the Superior Council of the Judiciary. This is what the amendments to the criminal trial reform bill presented by the Minister of Justice Marta Cartabia and approved tonight by the Council of Ministers provide. application, by way of alternative penalties, of public utility work and some alternative measures to detention, currently the responsibility of the Supervisory Court. This is what the amendments to the bill for the reform of the criminal trial of the Minister of Justice, Marta Cartabia, approved by the Council of Ministers establish. The new substitutive sentences, home detention, semi-liberty, public utility work and pecuniary punishment, will be directly enforceable by the judge of cognition, within the limit of four years of sentence imposed. Conditional suspension is excluded. In this way, greater effectiveness is guaranteed to the execution of the sentence. To avoid holding trials for bagatellar facts, the government is also delegated to extend the scope of application of the cause of non-punishment, referred to in Article 131 bis of Criminal Code, to crimes punished with a legal penalty not exceeding a minimum of two years. Delegation to the government also to enhance the institution of suspending the proceedings with probation of the accused. It is expected that the request for probation of the accused may also be proposed by the prosecutor. Testing involves the performance of public utility work and participation in restorative justice paths.