[JURIST] The Italian Chamber of Deputies approved a bill Wednesday that would allow cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, to postpone criminal proceedings against them on the grounds that they would interfere with official duties. The legislation, passed by a vote of 316-239 with 40 members abstaining, would allow officials to suspend trials against them for up to 18 months by claiming a “legitimate impediment” to appearing in court. Critics contend that the legislation is specifically designed to protect Berlusconi from the prosecutions he faces, while supporters claim that it will modernize the country’s judicial system. The bill now proceeds to the Senate for consideration.
In January, hundreds of Italy’s judges walked out of their courtrooms to protest the passage of legislation that placed strict time limits on the trial and appeals process. That bill was also criticized as being tailored for Berlusiconi’s benefit and would result in the automatic dismissal of two pending corruption cases against him. Later that month, it was reported that Berlusconi could also face a third trial based on information that surfaced a week after judges postponed his trial at his lawyers’ request. It was the trial’s second delay since a 2008 law granting immunity to him and four others was struck down by the Italian Constitutional Court in October. A tax fraud trial against Berlusconi was similarly postponed last year. The leader has been previously acquitted of false accounting and bribery, and has had other charges against him dropped.