Judicial news to be updated: pm communication changes
Updated SCM guidelines for prosecution and judicial offices. Among the new features, constant information on the development of criminal proceedings
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Key points
From the presumption of innocence to the protection of reputation. The Csm is preparing to amend the guidelines on the communication of judges and prosecutors. On the agenda of the next plenum, in fact, comes the proposal to update the now dated 2018 document.
What the new text envisages
The new text takes note of the fact that, in the digital information system, a piece of judicial news disseminated in the initial phase of investigations can produce reputational effects that are much quicker and more lasting than the subsequent trial ascertainment. For this reason, institutional communication must not only be respectful of the presumption of innocence, but also 'true, necessary, proportionate, reparable and up-to-date', to avoid the provisionality of the investigative phase resulting in an irreversible compromise of personal dignity.
Thus, the updated version of the guidelines recognises that reputation, today, is an essential part of personal protection and that the administration of justice is also called upon to deal with it. Consistent with this approach, central importance is attached to the distinction between initial communication, reactive communication and update communication.
Thus, alongside the possibility of correcting inaccurate or distorted information, already present in the 2018 text, a subsequent communication is introduced when developments in the proceedings or trial significantly change the situation initially represented by the office. The provision of update notices in the event of archivements, revocations, annulments, acquittals, absolutions or other outcomes of a different sign compared to the initial stage goes in this direction.
If the office considers that it must communicate a piece of information at an early stage of the proceedings, then it must also assume the duty to rectify the same piece of information when, due to the development of the proceedings, its content and meaning change. The criterion indicated by the text is, on this point, that of timeliness, visibility and informational symmetry with respect to the initial communication.
