ROME. A very delicate day, a council of ministers suspended for over two hours and then an agreement. At the heart of the justice reform is the crux of the inadmissibility for mafia crimes, essential for the M5S and the leader in pectore Giuseppe Conte. The 5-star ministers had announced the abstention without the assurance of Prime Minister Mario Draghi that “all mafia crimes will not be excluded from the impossibility of prosecution”, or rather “the procedural limitation” at the center of the controversy of these days. “We will not accept yielding and we will not compromise on the mafia in any way” was what was argued before the premier in a river meeting in the morning. The agreement reached concerns a special regime for what concerns the trials relating to mafia crimes.
In detail, the agreement does not provide for any “timing” for crimes attributable to 416 bis and ter, therefore indefinite trials. While for crimes aggravated by the mafia six years of appeal, with a transitional regime between now and 2024. From 2025, the appeal will drop to 5 years. The transitional rule on inadmissibility therefore provides for a double track for crimes of mafia and terrorism, but also of sexual violence and international drug trafficking. While for all other crimes the appeal judgment can last a maximum of 3 years, extendable by one, for the latter there is no ceiling but reiterable extensions by the judge, who must always motivate his decision.
The 5 Star Movement he gave the green light to the agreement by dismissing the hypothesis of an abstention by his ministers, which would have led to disturbing scenarios. Prime Minister Conte claimed the “victory” of the Movement (“The trials for mafia and terrorism do not end, as we wanted”) and added: “We will vote together”.
«It is an important day: long reflections to arrive at unanimous approval with conviction by all political forces, ”said Justice Minister Marta Cartabia at the end of the CDM, announcing that the majority will withdraw all amendments at this point. “Now there is the goal of accelerating as much as possible to conclude this very important reform before the summer break if possible: swift justice, respecting the reasonable length of the trial, which at the same time guarantees that no trial goes up in smoke”.
The day
Draghi had tried to force the times, calling the CDM for 11.30, but without an agenda, in the hope that the 5 Stars would be convinced to accept the mediation proposal, to which Lega and Pd had also contributed. According to a first (and insufficient) draft of the text, the term of inadmissibility on appeal could rise from 2 to 3 years and in the Supreme Court from 1 year to 18 months for “particularly complex” judgments. But, it said, further extensions of the same duration “may be arranged” for crimes of terrorism or subversion, for mafia-type associations (Article 416 bis), for political-mafia electoral exchange (Article 416 ter), for violence sexual, for drug dealing associations. Too little for the M5S, which has put its foot down without moving from the original request: imprescriptibility for mafia and terrorism crimes, all of them, not just those that involve life imprisonment.
The opinion of the CSM. Meanwhile, the clouds coming from the CSM are gathering on the reform: with 17 votes in favor, one against and three abstentions, the plenum of the Superior Council of the Judiciary approved the overall opinion on the government amendments to the reform of the criminal trial. The main criticisms concern the rule contained in the justice reform which entrusts Parliament with the general priority criteria for the exercise of criminal action: according to the councilors it is in “possible conflict with the current structure of relations between the powers of the State”. And the identification of the crimes to be prosecuted “will inevitably and physiologically reflect the political majorities of the moment”.