ITALY* 211 IHF FOCUS: freedom of expression and free media; judicial system and the right to a fair trial; ill-treatment and police misconduct; prisons; freedom of religion and re- ligious tolerance; migrants and asylum seekers; ethnic minorities (Roma). Excessive length of court proceedings 90% of all television revenues and audi- and overcrowding in prisons remained ences in Italy were controlled by the pri- among the most serious human rights vately owned company “Mediaset” and by problems in Italy. the public broadcaster RAI. “Fininvest,” a Waves of illegal immigrants continued holding company owned by Prime Minister to arrive in the country, creating problems Silvio Berlusconi’s family, is a major share- in the provision of temporary assistance, holder in “Mediaset,” and Berlusconi indi- the fight against human trafficking, and so- rectly controls also many other media cial integration, and which were followed companies, including the “Mondadori” by mass expulsions. Asylum seekers, al- publishing group, two daily newspapers, though protected by the constitution, were and several weekly publications. The OSCE not covered by specific legislation to im- representative stated that in a democracy, plement the right to asylum. it is incompatible to be both in charge of Freedom of expression and media news media and to hold a public post, freedom, which were generally protected, pointing out that such a link results in con- were still affected by media concentration flicts between political and business inter- and by the fact that defamation through ests in the shaping of public opinion.2 the press remained a criminal offence. Under the 2004 “Gasparri Act,”3 a me- The serious problems faced by the dia group may now control more than Italian judicial system were reflected by the 20% of television or print media, provided fact that Italy had the fifth highest number that its share of the total market is less of applications to the European Court of than 20%. The “Frattini Act”4 established Human Rights (ECtHR). Italy was also the an administrative body to ensure that state most frequently found to be in members of the government did not ex- breach of the European Convention on ploit their powers for their own interests, Human Rights (ECHR), and had the great- and prohibited them from having direct re- est number of unexecuted ECtHR judg- sponsibilities in media companies. In its ments. opinion 309/2004 of 13 June 2005 on Alvaro Gil-Robles, the Council of Eu- the compatibility of the “Gasparri” and rope’s commissioner for human rights, “Frattini Acts” with the Council of Europe’s paid an official visit to Italy from 10 to 17 standards on freedom of expression and June 2005. On 14 December, he submit- media pluralism, the European Commis- ted the findings of his visit to the Com- sion for Democracy through Law – the Ve- mittee of Ministers and the Parliamentary nice Commission – called on the Italian 1 Assembly, including the written response authorities to support the press in the face by the Italian government. of pressure from advertisers, and ex- pressed doubt as to whether the “Gasparri Freedom of Expression and Free Act” could fully guarantee media pluralism Media in Italy. As for the “Frattini Act,” the com- According to a report issued in June by mission considered its criteria vague and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of its sanctions insufficient, and questioned the Media Miklos Haraszti, Italy’s media re- its real impact on the conduct of certain mained highly concentrated. More than members of the government.5 * As reported by the Italian Helsinki Committee. Information on religious freedom was provided by Human Rights Without Frontiers (IHF cooperating organization), and on the Roma minority by the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC, IHF cooperating organization). 212 ITALY On a positive note, in February, Presi- trators were not found. A considerable dent Carlo Azeglio Ciampi pardoned Lino number of minors were charged with cri- Jannuzzi, the 77-year-old former editor-in- mes, but about 42% of them were not chief of the Naples daily Il Giornale di Na- tried because they were younger than 14. poli. Jannuzzi was facing a 29-month There was a broad consensus among prison sentence for criminal libel, stem- Italian judicial professionals that the judicial ming from articles published between system had serious deficiencies and need- 1987 and 1993 that criticized judicial au- ed radical reform. The Council of Europe’s thorities investigating organized crime. annual report on the excessive length of N In May, enforcing a search mandate judicial proceedings in Italy showed that, in signed by magistrates in Brescia, six officers spite of measures taken by the Italian au- of the finance police (Guardia di Finanza) thorities in recent years, the short relax- searched the Milan headquarters of Italy’s ation observed in 2001 had again re- leading daily newspaper Corriere della versed. In fact, with a few exceptions, the Sera, looking for documents that the paper average length of proceedings and the had used in a report on Iraqi militants’ use backlog of cases were both increasing on of semiautomatic pistols produced by the all levels of the judiciary.6 Italian firm Beretta. Paolo Serventi Longhi, The average length of criminal proce- secretary general of the National Federation edings in 2004 was about 1,000 days. of Italian Press (FNSI) defined the inspec- Parties in civil proceedings were also tion as an act of intimidation. harmed by delays: in labour disputes the average length of first-instance proceed- Judicial System and Right to a Fair ings was 698 days in 2004 while an aver- Trial age of 686 days was needed to decide on According to the first president of the appeals. In bankruptcy cases, parties had Supreme Court of Cassation, Nicola to wait as long as 3,359 days, or nearly ten Marvulli, magistrates were losing prestige years, to get a first-instance decision, dur- because of the excessive length of trials, ing which time the debtor’s rights – such changing criteria for their professional qua- as the right to manage property or have a lifications and new legislation that would bank account and also his or her civil and limit their independence. An increased political rights were suspended. This also conflictuality in the Italian society also con- applied to disputes concerning divorce or 7 tributed to a 2-percent increase of civil liti- the execution of judgments. gations in the first degree and up to 8% in Italy had the fifth highest number of the courts of second instance. Marvulli de- applications to the ECtHR, was the state fined the “ex Cirielli Law” that reduced the most frequently found to be in breach of time limits as a “masked amnesty.” Magis- the ECHR, and had the greatest number of trates generally welcomed the decision by unexecuted judgments. Three-quarters of President Ciampi to send back to the par- these execution problems remained un- liament for further revision a law that solved three years after being referred to would have impeded prosecutors to ap- the Committee of Ministers of the Council peal a “not-guilty” sentence. of Europe.8 According to the Supreme Court of Act No. 89 of 2001 on fair compensa- Cassation, Italian courts handed down tion in cases where judicial proceedings 2,855,372 convictions in 2005 (1% less are excessively prolonged (the “Pinto Act”) than in 2004), but more than 50% of allows victims of unreasonable delay to ap- them remained unexecuted, as the perpe- ply for compensation. This has helped to HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE OSCE REGION IHF REPORT 2006 ITALY 213 reduce the number of applications against judges and prosecutors among magis- Italy in the ECtHR. However, compensation trates, on their professional promotion cases under the “Pinto Act” were heard by upon competition and disciplinary pro- the appeal courts and consequently added ceedings against judges. President Ciampi to their case burden thus – paradoxically – had refused to sign a previous version of further slowing the processing of other the draft, returning it to parliament to cases. Moreover, the “Pinto Act” merely amend it in order to better comply with compensated victims without tackling the the constitution. root of the problem.9 The new law provides, among other Italy’s legal system was under-funded. things, that after the first five years on duty, The Council of Europe’s human rights every magistrate has to choose whether to commissioner recommended giving every continue as a judge or as a prosecutor. To judge a legal assistant, adjusting judicial change their role, they would have to pass districts, and simplifying procedures, to an exam, attend a specific formation remedy the existing problems.10 course at the School for Magistrates and Another problem was the abuse of the move to another judiciary district. Magistra- right to appeal to higher instances: the tes now have to pass a psychological test Court of Cassation had 92,545 civil cases to assess their suitability for the work they and 30,953 criminal cases pending as of 31 have chosen, and the general prosecutor December 2004, which showed that the of the Supreme Court of Cassation shall court no longer was a body which decides conduct disciplinary actions against the whether the law has been correctly applied, magistrates who violate specific rules of but de facto acted as a third-level court. conduct. The new law also ensures more The Council of Europe’s human rights transparency on the extra-judicial services commissioner also criticized the abuse of performed by the magistrates. time limits (covered by articles 157 to 161 of the criminal code) that allowed accused The “Sofri Case”13 persons with skilful lawyers to use delaying The case of Adriano Sofri, a respected tactics to drag proceedings out until the opinion maker and former leader of the time limit expires.