Justice, Health e safety: we get to the heart of the measures. The Council of Ministers, the first operative of the new government, has approved a new single decree with urgent and substantial rules in the field of justice (postponement of the entry into force of the penal reform and life imprisonment on which the Council meeting scheduled for November 8 falls), Covid, with the anticipation of the end of the vaccine obligation for sanitary ware but the obligation to wear masks in hospitals and nursing homes remains. Among the pile of dossiers also the tightening on public gatherings such as rave parties, while the expensive bills will be addressed at another time, perhaps as early as November 4th as explained by the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni at a press conference.
“We proceeded to approve a first decree which in my opinion is very important. Personally, for me, it's sometimes symbolic." So the prime minister presented the new decree at a press conference immediately after the CDM.
Life imprisonment confirmed, but the last word rests with the Council
THElife imprisonment – known as “fine pena mai” – is a change to the prison system introduced after the mafia attacks against judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in 1992. A key tool for fighting organized crime and therefore absolutely to be maintained, according to the new Prime Minister. “Out of respect for the work done by Parliament, we have decided to adopt the law as voted in the Chamber and included in the decree, to give the new Parliament time to convert it or think about improvements,” Meloni said at the press conference.
According to this amendment, those sentenced to life imprisonment for the crimes envisaged by article 416-bis of the Penal Code – therefore mafia, terrorism and subversive activities – can access “penitentiary benefits” – reduced sentences, work permits and bonus permits – “even in the absence of collaboration with the judiciary”, but only if they fulfill some specific conditions. In particular, he will have to demonstrate that he has "fulfilled the civil obligations and obligations to compensate for the sentence" or demonstrate "the absolute impossibility of such fulfillment" by attaching "specific elements, different and additional to the regular prison conduct, the participation of the prisoner in the rehabilitation program” and no longer have connections with their own organizations, even indirectly or through third parties, and that they are not at risk of restoring these connections.
The approved decree also provides that people sentenced to life imprisonment cannot access prison benefits before having served at least 30 years in prison. In the case of sentences of less than life imprisonment, two thirds of the sentence will still have to be served.
The topic has been at the center of the Italian debate on justice for a long time. A sentence of Constitutional Court, last May 2021, found that the rule would conflict with two articles of the Constitution (3 and 27), namely those that provide that the law is the same for everyone and that the purpose of incarceration must be re-educational. The life imprisonment impediment would therefore create differences between prisoners sentenced to the same sentence, life imprisonment, but for which it is possible to access penitentiary benefits, including early release after a 26-year sentence served in prison with behavior such as to highlight the repentance.
However, the last word will be up to the Constitutional Court which will make its assessments on the new decree law in the hearing scheduled for next 8 November.
The Cartabia reform: entry into force moved to 30 December
The entry into force of the legislative decree of reform of the criminal process, originally scheduled for 1 November, aimed at reducing trial times and modernizing the Italian judicial system with a strong push towards digitalisation.
"On 2 November, the Cartabia reform would have entered into force", recalled the premier, adding that "the judicial offices are not ready to comply and this risked producing paralysis of the judicial system". The postponement was arranged, as was also explained at the press conference, to guarantee the optimal impact of the reform on the organization of the judicial offices, also accepting the request of 26 general attorneys who, in a letter to the new Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio, had highlighted the problems and difficulties in interpreting the rules. The request is based on the need to obtain a transitional period in which to understand if and how to apply the innovations introduced not only to the proceedings that will start from tomorrow onwards, but above all to those already underway.
"We took two months to offer more time to our judicial offices to comply with the reform of the criminal process", but the postponement, clarified the premier, "in any case respects the deadlines of the PNRR, which provides that the reform will be implemented by the end of the year”.
Covid, from November 1 stop the vaccination obligation for health care but the masks remain in hospitals and Rsa
Article 6 of the decree-law brings forward from 31 December to 1 November 2022 the expiry of the obligation for healthcare personnel to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Furthermore, a progressive reintegration of unvaccinated health personnel has been envisaged, in order to counter the serious shortage of health personnel registered in the area, as the premier underlined.
Contrary to the news on the "discontinuity" with the previous Government on the subject of Covid circulated up to now, the new Government has chosen to maintain the obligation of masks in hospitals and nursing homes: doctors, nurses and even visitors will have to continue to wear them.
Crash on rave parties: imprisonment, fines and confiscations
Turn of the screw ai illegal rave parties: imprisonment from 3 to 6 years (currently it was 2 years), fines from 1.000 to 10.000 euros and official prosecution "if the offense is committed by more than 50 people for the purpose of organizing a gathering from which danger may arise for public order or public safety or public health". In the event of a conviction, "the confiscation of the things that served or were intended to commit the crime and of those used to achieve the purposes of the occupation is always ordered".
“We have chosen to introduce a new and different crime to avoid it being included among crimes against property and not for public safety,” explained Meloni.
A particularly topical theme after the rave party organized at Modena and interrupted with the intervention of the police.
