''Calunnia'' (), meaning "

calumny Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

", is a

criminal offence In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

under Article 368 of the Italian Penal Code (''Codice Penale''), which states:

Anyone who with a denunciation, complaint, demand or request, even anonymously or under a false name, directs a judicial authority or other authority that has an obligation to report, to blame someone for a crime who he knows is innocent, that is he fabricates evidence against someone, shall be punished with imprisonment from two to six years. The penalty shall be increased if the accused blames someone of a crime for which the law prescribes a penalty of imprisonment exceeding a maximum of ten years, or another more serious penalty. The imprisonment shall be from four to twelve years if the act results in a prison sentence exceeding five years, from six to twenty years if the act results in a life sentence.

The '' mens rea'' of ''calunnia'' requires awareness and a willingness to blame someone of a crime that the accused knows is innocent. Ingiuria, Diffamazione e Calunnia
, Studio Assistenza Legale, accessed 24 October 2011 ''Calunnia'' should be distinguished from criminal

slander Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

(''ingiuria'') and criminal libel (''diffamazione'') which relate to offences against personal honour in the Italian Penal Code.

Protection of legal interests

Traditionally, the crime of ''calunnia'' is said to protect a plurality of legal interests. The major protected legal interests are, at the same time, both the proper administration of justice and personal honour, and also possibly the personal freedom of the falsely accused. Historically, the Italian legal system has treated ''calunnia'' as detrimental to the interests of the State and the correct administration of justice. This is evidenced through the crime of ''calunnia'' being included among other crimes against the administration of justice in the Italian Penal Code, unlike in the

French Penal Code French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

or Belgian Penal Code, which place the equivalent of ''calunnia'' with crimes against honour.French Penal Code, Art 226-10
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Notes

{{Reflist Criminal Procedure Criminal Procedure Law of Italy Speech crimes Defamation