Dear director, fire and flames under the lantern. In the Giovanni Toti case, the Liguria Region is considering appealing to the Constitutional Court for an attribution conflict, in order to put an end to yet another sensational “political-judicial” conflict, almost always on the right. The conflict of attribution is based on the assumption that the body that exercises the jurisdictional function of the State compromises the functionality and guarantees of the regional government of Liguria and its president elected freely and directly by the citizens. The maintenance of Toti’s precautionary arrest measure, presumably to obtain his resignation, is undoubtedly causing repercussions and influences on the Council’s activity, preventing it from fully fulfilling the mandate received from the voters of Liguria. A situation that has persisted since the 7th of May – in the full implementation of the interventions of the Pnrr and also of the Pnc (Complementary National Plan) we are talking about almost eight billion euros – and which the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Genoa and the investigating judge justify with the danger of the governor repeating the crime of which he is accused.
There is a clear disparity between regional or local elected officials and national ones, which cannot be subject to disqualification measures without prior authorisation from the Chamber to which they belong. The protection of central elected officials of the State exists to safeguard the separation of powers and perhaps also to prevent Montesquieu from turning over in his grave. We must ask ourselves whether some safeguards would also be necessary for officials operating at regional and local level. In the case of Liguria, the Constitutional Court should assess whether there has been interference by a State body – the judiciary – in the regular performance of the functions of an autonomous territorial body of constitutional importance, such as a region. Among other things, Toti’s deadline is even longer because the Court of Revision hearing is scheduled for 8 July and we will certainly have to wait to know the outcome. If the appeal is rejected, Toti’s lawyers have already announced that they intend to appeal to the Supreme Court and the decision would not be available before the end of September. What would happen if in the meantime another catastrophic event similar to the Morandi bridge tragedy in Liguria were to occur, when immediate decisions are vital?
The case is creating a dangerous precedent that, in times of differentiated autonomy, undermines the autonomy of a region from the State, with the risk of “dominant” effects on the activities of all regions. The use of the conflict of attribution between State and region before the Constitutional Court – provided for in article 134 of the Constitution currently appears to be the only suitable instrument to paralyze the initiative of a judge who, even before a definitive sentence, can induce any person holding a political position to resign. In recent days, the magistrates allowed Governor Toti to meet with three councilors from his council and he will soon also be able to see some representatives of the parties that support his majority. It does not appear that these meetings are attended by a marshal of the Guardia di Finanza and they certainly fit into the typical activity of a regional president. So why can’t he go back to doing his work in institutional settings? Toti aside, justice remains one of the main battlegrounds in Italian political life. The government of Giorgia Meloni decided to resolve part of the problem with the prison decree signed by the Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio, but the majority is divided and neither the latest news that occurred in Rome in the Regina Coeli prison, nor the dramatic figures – on May 31 , there were more than 61 thousand people detained in the 189 Italian penitentiary institutions, with a capacity of around 51 thousand places, and there have been more than 45 suicides in prisons since the beginning of the year.
Also questioned several times by Pope Francis, who during his pontificate visited 15 detention institutions, the last in Verona, last month. However, the Prime Minister and Nordio, without allowing themselves to be unnecessarily worn out, could do as in Spain where, with courage, the Iberians copied our 1975 law on the prison system that regulates the lives of prisoners and, unlike us , they have applied. Moral: here the law exists, but it is not applied, while in Madrid “it is barely said or done”. The Spanish proceeded pragmatically and, to achieve this, they based themselves on a new model of organization, personnel and prison construction. They revolutionized the old system by signing a pact between all political forces on the implementation of the reform, that is, a shared project carried out independently of successive governments or majorities.
“A pact on the execution of the sentence” that, to this day, is a lesson. Riccardo Arena, extraordinary animator of the historic column of Radio Carcere, recalls that when building prisons, the Iberians abandoned most of the old prisons, replacing them with secure prefabricated modular structures. They transformed their native prisons located in the city centers into hotels, residences and offices. This could also be done here with Regina Coeli, San Vittore, Ucciardone, Poggioreale, Sollicciano, etc. etc. As for the organization of prison life, the prisoners are divided into homogeneous groups – not as in Italy – and each one must share a treatment program that involves work, study, interviews, etc. If the rules are not observed, they regress to more severe structures. In other words: with them it is forbidden to spend days in the cell, but with us it is forbidden to leave the cell! Sometimes even by innocent people. Minister Carlo Nordio, who with Guido Crosetto is the only true liberal in this government, strikes a blow and puts an end to the Italian prison scandal sanctioned several times by the European Court of Human Rights.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
