House approves statute of limitations reform, ruling coalition splits

(ANSA) - Rome, March 24 - A bill that would extend the statute of limitations in corruption crimes was approved Tuesday in the Lower House and will now move to the Senate. The bill proposed by ruling center-left Democratic Party (PD)of Premier Matteo Renzi extends the statute of limitations for white-collar crime by half. It was approved with 274 yeas, 26 nays, and 121 abstentions. The legislation comes after a long series of graft scandals that have hit parties from various sides of the political spectrum as well as the timing-out of several high-profile convictions. These include an 18-year prison term against Stephan Schmidheiny, the former owner of the Eternit cement company, for the asbestos-related deaths of 263 Eternit cement workers and their relatives.
    Furthermore, early on Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that prison sentences against ex-Juventus executives Luciano Moggi and Antonio Giraudo over the 2006 'Calciopoli' match-fixing scandal had timed out. "A mosaic of interventions is starting to take shape on justice after much skepticism over the government's ability to achieve the goals it set itself," said Justice Minister Andrea Orlando. "Many eyebrows were raised, but today it is possible to clearly say that we are working on the crux of the poor functioning of the justice system. "Naturally, this cannot be the only measure. There will be a comprehensive intervention to rationalise criminal trials".
    The government also recently passed a reform giving citizens the opportunity to seek redress in cases of incompetence or wrongdoing by magistrates.
    That move sparked tension between the government and the National Magistrates Association (ANM).
    ANM President Rodolfo Sabelli last week accused the State of "slapping judges and coddling the corrupt" after a corruption investigation that led Maurizio Lupi to quit as transport and infrastructure minister, even though he is not being probed. The statute of limitations bill was approved despite dissent from Interior Minister Angelino Alfano's New Centre Right (NCD) party, a junior partner in Renzi's government coalition, which abstained in Tuesday's vote.
    The NCD says extending the statute of limitations risks exacerbating the problem of Italy's snail-paced justice system and is calling for changes ahead of its reading in the Senate.
    But Orlando said Tuesday that the basic structure of the bill will not change. "There are arguments that can be taken into consideration, and others that I don't agree with. We'll evaluate things in the Senate reading," Orlando said. "(But) I don't think it is possible to go back on the structure of the statute of limitations," he added.
    As well as extending the statute of limitations for corruption cases, the bill also suspends it for two years after a first-instance conviction and for one year after an appeals-level conviction.
    The statute of limitations is also suspended for six months in cases involving international arrest warrants and for three months if the defence requests complex expert reports to discourage time-wasting tactics.
    The statute of limitations will not kick in for minors convicted of sex crimes and offences such as stalking and prostitution until they are 18, if the victims are also underage.
    The law will apply to crimes committed after it comes into force.