Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 8.djvu/281

 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.