Roundup: Italian Lower House lengthens statute of limitations for corruption

The Italian Lower House on Tuesday approved an amendment to extend by half the statute of limitations for corruption, prompting tensions among coalition allies within Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government.

The bill containing the measure was approved with 274 votes in favor, 121 abstentions, and 26 votes against.

The New Center Right (NCD) of Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, which is a junior partner in the cabinet, opposed the provision and abstained along with major opposition forces.

The bill will now move to the Senate for definitive approval.

Under the new provision, the statute of limitations for corruption offenses would be lengthened by half of the maximum sentence. In a case of corruption of public servants punished with a maximum 8-year prison term, for instance, the time limit would increase to 12 years.

The limitation period would be suspended for two years after a first grade conviction, and for one year after an appeal conviction.

Finally, the amendment would raise the limitation period for most serious offenses against minors, such as sexual violence, stalking, pornography, and prostitution.

Italy's judicial system allows defendants three levels of trial before a conviction is definitive, and both sides have the right to appeal to second grade courts and court of Cassation.

Currently, as criminal corruption often comes to light many years after the facts, several judicial proceedings are dissolved before reaching a final sentence.

The amendment to Italian penal code is expected to be discussed in Senate soon, and the tensions erupted between the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's majority and its minor center-right ally might bring further troubles to the cabinet.

In fact, the government can count upon a much slimmer majority in the Upper House, and NCD's support would be necessary there to definitely approve the measure.

Yet, the NCD argued that extending the statute of limitations might discourage judges to speed up judicial proceedings, which are already very long in Italy.

Despite being contained in a separate draft law, the amendment to the statute of limitations is part of a wider anti-corruption package the cabinet presented in December 2014, after a major corruption scandal regarding an alleged mafia-style criminal ring in Rome had hit the country.

If approved, that package would provide tougher measures against bribery, corruption, and other related crimes, so that the statute of limitations for these crimes would also increase further up to 15 years. Endit