Justice, FdI proposal on registration of suspects arrives: stop pillorying

Fratelli d'Italia intends to revise Article 335 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which regulates the procedure through which registration in the register of criminal offences is carried out by the public prosecutor. The proposed law, which consists of only one article and is signed by Chamber of Deputies group leader Galeazzo Bignami, provides that 'in all cases in which a cause of justification can be identified in relation to the notitia criminis received by the public prosecutor, the latter must proceed, within the peremptory term of seven days, to preliminary investigations in order to assess the unlawfulness or legitimacy of the conduct and to avoid, if not strictly necessary, the registration of suspects'.

According to what is stated in the introductory part attached to the provision, 'the recent events in the news, for example, relating to the inclusion in the register of those under investigation for "manslaughter as a result of culpable excess in the lawful use of weapons" of the two officers who returned fire and neutralised the aggressor of Brigadier Carlo Legrottaglie, who was killed, have highlighted a flaw in the current system, as governed by the code of criminal procedure'. The procedure, it goes on to say, 'presupposes entry in the register even when a cause of justification can be recognised, such as, for example, the state of necessity, legitimate defence or any other situation, typified by the penal code, in the presence of which an act, which in the normal course of events would constitute a crime, does not take on such a character because it is permitted or imposed by law'.

"Although the registration in the special register does not automatically imply that the person entered is considered guilty and notwithstanding the fact that very often the investigations conclude with a request for dismissal - it is explained - such procedural automatism exposes the person entered to a veritable media pillory and, above all, to an unjustified judicial ordeal, all the more so in cases of crimes in which police force personnel are involved, for whom the registration represents a 'due act' also in relation to facts committed in the exercise of their functions". Hence, the register of suspects, 'conceived as an institution to protect the recipient of the information of guarantee resulting from the registration, has often turned into a sort of advance condemnation for the same, subjected to a public trial in the media even before being formally charged'.

It is, therefore, 'necessary to find a solution which, while fully respecting the principle of mandatory prosecution, is capable of balancing two fundamental requirements: on the one hand, the right to avail oneself of the guarantees deriving from inclusion in the register of suspects, such as, for example, the right to appoint a defence counsel, participation in certain acts, the information of guarantee and access to the register itself, and on the other hand, the interest in not suffering the harmful consequences deriving from inclusion in the register'.