Impact of Statues of Limitations in Corruption Cases

IMPACT OF STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS IN CORRUPTION CASES AFFECTING EU FINANCIAL INTERESTS |

PAG.7

Experts and practitioners in the six countries

generally believe that a general reform of the

procedural system, to reduce the average len-

gth of cases or speed up investigations, could

help solve time-related problems.

Also, in relation to SOL for corruption-related

crimes and with the exception of Italy, SOL are

considered long enough (even too long in Ro-

mania) to enable the judicial system to prosecu-

te criminals. In countries like Italy, an ineffective

SOL framework is considered to be a powerful

obstacle to the prevention and fight against this

kind of crimes which are difficult to detect and

investigate because of their hidden nature and

of the agreement between the different parties

involved in the criminal conduct; elsewhere,

SOL are occasionally mentioned as a potential

obstacle, with many experts pointing to the dif-

ficulty for prosecutors to establish when the

crime was exactly committed and when the re-

lated SOL started running.

Law n. 32/2010.

Law n. 30/2015.

From one to two years, under article 24.2 of Law n.4055/2012 on Fair Trial and Reasonable Length of Proceedings.

Law n.3961/2011. Despite the recent abolition of the short five-year limitation period that was provided for both felonies

and misdemeanours committed in the performance of Ministers’ duties, relevant legislation still provides for a limit

period within which Parliament is entitled to proceed with their criminal prosecution; once this period is over, no legal

action can be taken against them.

Law n.251/2005, also known as “Former Cirielli Law”, after the name of the MP who first introduced the law into

Parliament where it was completely modified. He later refused to acknowledge the paternity of the law

Several political figures were under trial for corruption-related crimes.

One billion Lira is equivalent to approximately 500 million Euros.

The Italian Supreme Court, Cassazione, confirmed this decision in November 2000.

SILVIO BERLUSCONI AND THE ART OF TIMELY AMENDING SOL LEGISLATION IN ITALY

SILVIO BERLUSCONI, THE FAMOUS ITALIAN ENTREPRENEUR AND FORMER PRIME MINISTER IN

MULTIPLE MANDATES, HAS A VERY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH SOL-RELATED LAWS. SINCE THE

1990S HE HAS BEEN INDICTED MULTIPLE TIMES AND MANY OF THE CASES AGAINST HIM HAVE

BECOME STATUTE BARRED, SOME OF THEM THANKS TO FAVOURABLE SOL LEGISLATION AND

TO TIMELY LAW REVIEWS ENACTED UNDER HIS PRESIDENCY.

Lodo Mondadori. Berlusconi was indicted for participating in corruption in judicial acts for ha-

ving paid some judges to rule in his favour in a civil case on the ownership of a publishing com-

pany. He was acquitted in the first instance trial; the Court of Appeal reformulated the charges

to simple bribery and the case became statute barred.

All Iberian 1. Berlusconi was indicted for unlawful party financing to the benefit of the former

socialist party and for aggravated false accounting, to conceal the transfer of large sums of money

to off-shore companies. Because of a judicial mistake, the trial was split into two separate proce-

edings for the two crimes: statute of limitation for unlawful party financing was then stated to

run as from 1992 (it would have been as from 1996 if the crimes had been prosecuted together).

At the end of the first-instance case, Berlusconi was acquitted for irregularities on 10 of the 22

contested billion Lira

and was convicted to two years of imprisonment plus a fine of 10 billion

Lira. In October 1999, the Court of Appeal declared all the cases statute barred