NO statute of limitations accord

(ANSA) - Rome, January 22 - A government meeting on Tuesday night failed to reach an agreement over a reform of criminal trials and the statute of limitations.
    Ex-premier Matteo Renzi's Italia Viva (IV) party, a member of the ruling coalition, slammed a proposal by Premier Giuseppe Conte to freeze the statute of limitations only for defendants who have been convicted by a first-instance court.
    The Lower House next week is scheduled to vote on a proposal presented by the center-right Forza Italia (FI) party to scrap a reform drafted by Justice Minister Alfonso Bonafede, a member of the 5-Star Movement (M5S), that puts the statute of limitations on ice after a first-instance court ruling.
    Renzi said Conte's proposal is "unconstitutional".
    Meanwhile on Wednesday the president of magistrates' union ANM, Luca Poniz, told state broadcaster RAI's Radio Ach'io program that he considered the controversy over Conte's proposal on the statute of limitations "a pretext".
    "Distinguishing between the position of someone who has been convicted and acquitted is extremely wise", he said.
    "I don't understand why it should be unconstitutional".
    Renzi's government partners, the M5S and his former Democratic Party (PD) fear he could break ranks and vote with the conservative opposition over the justice reform.
    The aim of Bonafede's reform is to stop offenders getting off thanks to their lawyers' ability to draw out proceedings until the statute of limitations kicks in.
    But the center-right and IV say that there is a risk of people getting embroiled in never-ending trials and the slow pace of Italy's justice system getting worse.