Purchase of a palace in London, the Vatican court of appeal annuls the first instance of the trial of Cardinal Angelo Becciu

The Vatican Court of Appeal annulled the first instance of the trial of Cardinal Angelo Becciu, Raffaele Mincione and Cecilia Marogna for the purchase of a palace in London. Procedural errors were recognised. The Court "does not declare the overall nullity of the entire trial at first instance: of the hearing as well as of the judgment. These in fact maintain their effects with regard to the defendants as well as the civil parties and the judge of second instance," write the judges of the Court of Appeal of the Holy See. "Similarly, in the new trial, the responsibility of the acquitted defendants cannot be questioned".

"They accepted our requests that the promoter of justice should not make selections of acts, i.e. that all acts should be filed," explains lawyer Fabio Viglione, Cardinal Becciu's defence counsel. The Vatican Court of Appeal decreed the "relative nullity" of the first instance of the Becciu trial. It therefore ordered "the renewal of the trial", the deposit of all the acts and documents of the preliminary proceedings in the clerk's office, and set 22 June as the date for the parties to appear in order to establish the hearing schedule. The Court states in the order that "it does not declare the overall nullity of the entire first instance trial: of the hearing as well as of the judgment. These in fact maintain their effects'. The issue relates, among other things, to the failure of the Promoter of Justice to deposit the entire investigation file.