Parties
The main parties to a criminal trial are the judge, the defendant, and the prosecutor (the ''Pubblico Ministero''). There are other parties that are optional, and they are: the ''Polizia Giudiziaria'' (Judiciary Police, a branch of the police whose duty is to help a prosecutor during his investigations), the ''parte lesa'' (the injured party), the ''responsabile civile'' (civilly liable, who can be compelled to pay damages, if the defendant is not solvent) and the ''civilmente obbligato per la pena pecuniaria'' (civilly liable, who can be compelled to pay the fines, if the defendant is not solvent).Pubblico Ministero
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, a ''Magistrato'' - Magistrate, though not a ''Giudice'' - 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.Preliminary investigations
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. The ''indagato'' (the person who is suspected to have committed the crime) can charge a lawyer to investigate on that person's behalf, in order to prove innocence. The ''Pubblico Ministero'' can appoint experts to carry out examinations; and, when the examination cannot be repeated (for instance, an autopsy), he must inform the ''indagato'', so that he can appoint another expert, to ensure his right of defense. In the case of interrogations, of searches and of seizures, the ''indagato'' can ask that his lawyer be present.Judge for the preliminary investigations
During the preliminary investigations, a Judge only seldom intervenes. The ''Giudice per le Indagini Preliminari'' (Judge for the Preliminary Investigations) controls the actions of the ''Pubblico Ministero'', when the personal rights of the ''indagato'' are at stake. No ''indagato'' 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.Precautionary measures
The ''precautionary 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 the ''Pubblico Ministero'' asks that the defendant's rights of movement be limited. There are many kinds of precautionary measures: The defendant or the prosecutor can appeal against the order of the Judge before the ''Tribunale della Libertà'' (Court of Liberty). This court can uphold, modify or quash the Judge's order. Its decision can be appealed before the ''Corte di Cassazione'' (Court of Cassation). The ''CL'' (''Court of Liberty'') actually reviews all the evidence and must render its decision within ten days of the appeal. The ''Corte di Cassazione'', on the contrary, cannot rule on merits, but only on correct procedure and correct interpretation of the law.Interrogations and self-incriminating statements
When a person who is neither an ''indagato'' (suspect) nor an ''imputato'' (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. TheNotice of closure
When the Prosecutor deems to have gathered enough information to make his case and before summoning the suspect before the Judge of the Preliminary Hearing, he must serve a notice to the suspect, in which the latter is informed of thePreliminary hearing
When the preliminary investigations are over, if the Pubblico Ministero thinks that the evidence he gathered could not justify a conviction, he must ''archiviare'' the ''notitia 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"), to appear before the Judge of the Preliminary Hearing (JPH). Before the JPH, the ''Pubblico 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 of ''non 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 a ''decreto'' (order or decree ) of ''rinvio 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.Trial
During the ''dibattimento'' (trial), both the Prosecutor and the defendant try to make their case. Article 111 of the Italian Constitution states that2. 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 of ''formazione della prova'' (proof formation). If the ''Giudice 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.
Defendant
The defendant can be called to the stand, but he may refuse to bear testimony 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 committingEvidence
For a defendant to be convicted, the Judge must be ''internally convinced'' (Italian law requires the Judge's ''intimo convincimento''); because of that, there are no rules that predetermine the weight to be attributed to any given piece of evidence, so even ''credible admissionsJudges of the trial
Italy does not try anyone by aAppeals
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.Appellate Courts
Cassation with remandment
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.Verdicts
The following are the only verdicts that a Judge can pass at the end of a trial.Statute of limitations
The Italian criminal system has a statute limiting the time for prosecution of all crimes, apart from felonies punishable by life imprisonment, to a period of time equalling the maximum penalty provided for by law, which cannot, though, be less than six years for ''delitti'' (Special proceedings
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.Direct trial (''giudizio direttissimo'')
When the defendant was arrested ''Immediate trial (''giudizio immediato'')
When it appears manifest that the ''indagato'' has committed the crime, if this does not seriously compromise the investigations, and when the ''indagato'' has been interrogated, or, summoned before the public prosecutor, has not appeared, or when the ''imputato'' is under provisional arrest, the public prosecutor can apply to the Judge for the Preliminary Investigations for the immediate trial. This application must be submitted within 90 days of the beginning of the investigations. The ''imputato'' too can apply for the immediate trial. If the Judge for the Preliminary Hearing grants this request, the Preliminary Hearing does not take place.Criminal Decree of Conviction (''decreto penale di condanna'')
When the public prosecutor deems that the defendant should just be handed down a fine (even if inflicted in lieu of a prison sentence), he may apply, within six months of the beginning of the investigations, to the judge for the preliminary investigations for a criminal decree of conviction.Articles 459-464 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 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 acquit the defendant 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 the judge 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.Review of trial
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, his guardian, his heir (if the convict is dead) or the ''Procuratore 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 decides de plano with an ''ordinanza'' if the application is receivable; if it deems it is not, the losing party can appeal the ''ordinanza'' before theNotes
References
* Italian Code of Criminal Procedure, Articles 1-95.Bibliography
* Mario Pisani ''et al.'' ''Manuale di procedura penale''. Bologna, Monduzzi Editore, 2006. * Giuseppe Riccio, Giorgio Spangher, ''La Procedura Penale''. Napoli, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 2002. * VV.AA. ''Diritto processuale penale'' Ed. AmbienteDiritto.it — Law Journal. ISSN 1974-9562 {{DEFAULTSORT:Italian Code Of Criminal Procedure Criminal Procedure Criminal Procedure Italian criminal law Codes of criminal procedure