ITALY
237
ITALY
Before the unification of Italy, each one of the
states into which the country was divided had penal
laws of its own; when, however, the union had been
accomplished, the Albert Code of 1859, which was in
force in Piedmont, was made applicable to the other
states, excepting Tuscany, where there remained in
force the Code of 1853. Reasons, analogous to those
suggested in relation with commercial matters, made
apparent the neetl of a new penal code, and one was
published on 30 June, 1889, which came into force on
1 January of the following year. This code deals
first with transgressions and punishments in general,
and then with transgressions in detail, and it adopts
the rational, ontological division of violations of the
law into felonies and misdemeanors. On the other
hand, in the case of participation of several persons in
a crime, by articles 63 and 64, the law accepts the
sound doctrine of aiding and abetting, while the sys-
tem of intensive cumulation of punishments of Bauer
was adopted for ca.ses of multiplicity of crimes and
punishments. With regard to relapsed criminals the
following principles were adopted: (a) relapse into
crime aggravates its malice against the State; (b) such
malice may be incurred even though the criminal has
not hitherto been brought to the bar for his crimes;
(c) the fact that a crime is habitual must be kept in
sight; (d) a crime can only be branded as habitual if
committed within a certain fixed period of time dating
from last conviction. The system of punishment
adopted, and known as the Irlandese. consisted in (a) a
period of solitary confinement: (b) a period of hard
labour with solitary confinement at night; (c) a period
of intermediate imprisonment; (d) a period of tickcl-
of-leave. Imprisonment for life has taken the plMic
of the death sentence, and periods of imprisonment fi m-
various offences vary from three days to twenty-three
years, with or without hard labour according to the
nature of the offence. Another penalty enforced for
periods of not less than a month and not more than
three years is enforced residence within assigned limits
but without imprisonment. The only financial punish-
ment is in the nature of a fine of not less than $2 and
not more than $2000. Finally, there is the loss of
civil and political rights, and of public office, which
may be temporary, for periods varying from three
months to five years, or it may be perpetual. The
punishments for misdemeanours are arrest for not less
than one day or more than 2 years, and fine, of not
less than .$0.20 or more than $400, and finally sus-
pension from the practice of a profession or of a trade,
for a period of not less than three days or more than
two years. Domiciliary arrest and judicial reprimand
may be substituted for other punishments; admoni-
tion, surveillance, and forced residence in a certain
place are additional punishments. A recent law sanc-
tions conditional condemnation. Causes that may
nullify the trials besides the death of the accused, are
amnesty, or withdrawal of the charge by the interested
party, and prescription. A special reason for annul-
ling a trial in cases of misdemeanour is voluntary
surrender. Amnesty, pardon and rehabilitation are
special causes of the nullification of a trial. In civil
proceedings the usual course is to issue a summons
citing the individual to appear for trial on a fixed day.
Arrest in civil proceedings is the exception. Finally,
as the present Code of Penal Procedure does not fulfil
the modern requirements of a spee<ly trial and of fair-
ness to the accused, several modifications have already
been provided, especially in the preparation of the
case for the purpose of avoiding the evils of long pre-
liminary arrest, which violates the principles of habeas
corpus, especially as the State pays no indemnity to
those detained in prison while awaiting trial.
(H) Judicial Establishment. — Justice emanates from the king and is administered in his name by judges whom he appoints. To secure judicial independence judges cannot be degraded, their salaries cannot be
withheld, and their residences cannot be changed. In
Italy the function of the judge is limited to recogniz-
ing the existence of a law and to applying it. As re-
gards the acts of the executive power, tne.se, to be valid
before the courts, must be conformable to the laws.
For the administration of justice the kingdom is di-
vided into five principal districts with High Courts of
Appeal, for civil cases, subdivided into twenty dis-
tricts with Courts of Appeal, for both civil and criminal
cases and consisting each of one or more Assize Cir-
cuits, which have only criminal jurisdiction; there are
162 districts of civil and criminal tribunals, and 1535
preture,OT petty-sessions courts having civil and crimi-
nal jurisdiction. Every commune, according to its
population, has one or more arbitration judges, deal-
ing only with civil cases. These unsalaried officials
may be called on to arbitrate money disputes, and
they have the right to pass sentence in trials not in-
volving sums of more than $20. The prietor, who
sits alone in his court, is the representative of the law
I FARA.a.MNi, Island of Cai ri
in the popular imagination, and the State attaches to
his office many functions of a purely administrative
nature; in civil matters his court is also one of appeal
from the sentence of the arbitration magistrates, and
is the court of first instance for civil cases involving
sums of more than $20 and less than $300, and for
cases of pos.session, whatever be the sums involved,
excepting questions of taxation, in which only the
tribunals have jurisdiction. The prsetor has jurisdic-
tion in all felonies and misdemeanours in which the
accused may be sentenced to confinement or imprison-
ment for not more than three months, to restriction of
residence for not more than one year, or to a fine of
not more than $200. Each tribunal consists of three
members and has civil and commercial jurisdiction,
as a court of first instance, in all cases that are above
the competency of the prcetor, from whose judgments
there is an appeal to the tribunal. In criminal mat-
ters, the Tribunal is the court of first instance, in
cases not belonging to the jurisdiction of the prjetors
or of the Assize Courts, and it hears appeals from the
sentences of the prietor. Jurisdiction in the second
instance, in cases that are appealed from civil or
criminal tribunals, belongs to the Courts of Appeal,
which consist each of five members. The Assize
Courts consist each of a president, who is a state
judge, and of twelve citizens, called jurors, who are
selected by lot from the district lists of those who are
duly qualified by age and by intelligence to fill the
office. The .\.s.size Courts have jurisdiction in criminal
cases in which the punishment may be imprisonment
or other restriction of personal liberty, for a period of
not less than five years or more than ten years, and
also in cases concerning political rights, those relating
to the offences by ministers of religion in the exercise
of their functions, and to public violations of the
liberty of the press.
