Venice, written a trial on 3: “The reform does not overcome the problems”
Forget the “Perry Mason” trial or pyrotechnic requests and speeches. Post-Covid Justice will be increasingly “written”. Of course, the phenomenon appeared in the Court, where it already starts with a written appeal, but in less than two years since the start of the pandemic, 4 out of 5 trials (78 percent, to be precise) took place without a hearing: “Between November 2020 and July 2021, the three criminal sections defined 2,799 proceedings, of which 641 were oral and 2,158 contradictory written – said the president regent of the Court of Appeal Carlo Citterio at the inauguration ceremony of the judicial year – E there was no slaughter of the rights of the parties“. In fact, the lawyers seem to have agreed, given that it is enough for only one of the parties to ask for it to return “in attendance”. The telematic procedures of all procedural documents are also growing, albeit underlining the slowness of the computer network.
New magistrates only in 2024
It is also for this reason, since obviously the hearing takes more time away from the judges, than the criminal pending proceedings in the Court went from 13,827 on 30 June 2020 to 12,227 on 31 December 2020. Those civilians, where the use of writing is already much more rooted, the decline was nevertheless significant: from 9785 to 7618. “And to think if we were fully staffed …”, Citterio reiterated disconsolately in front of the representatives of the CSM and of the Ministry of Justice, which however did not bring good news. “We know that you have 67 vacancies out of 486 magistrates – said the councilor Maria Paola Braggion – There are various banned places with questions from outside the district as well. But due to the postponement of the competition, the new magistrates will arrive only in 2024“. The manager of the trial office: it is a pity that 388 places were banned. And this in a district where there are offices with 30-35 percent of the clerks uncovered, so much so that in the morning, a silhouette with a question mark was placed on the chair that was to accommodate the administrative manager of Palazzo Cavalli. “We push and we will push on Rome and on the minister Marta Cartabia every day so that he arrives in Veneto more personal – says the governor Luca Zaia – A territory where justice is lacking ends badly”.
37 percent of the prescribed trials on appeal
In 2021, 37 percent of the hundred trials concluded on appeal were declared time-barred: more than one in three, 1777 inquiries and proceedings ended in a stalemate. Now the new reforms have first “canceled” the statute of limitations but then introduced the new “inadmissibility”, which cancels all those processes that last more than two years on appeal. «It changes but the substance is the same – claims Citterio – the Court is not in a position to deal with all the trials and therefore the less important things will be fixed when the term has expired: the sentence will have become the prescription of inadmissibility“. The “creaks” system, as the president of the Venetian Criminal Chamber Renzo Fogliata wanted to underline: “What begins today is not a judicial year, it is a civil tragedy – he said – Criminal justice in Venice is literally suspended ». The new president of the Venice Bar Federica Santinon is more conciliatory: “The key word for 2022 must be hope, not resilience – he said – The lawyer is ready to do its part as always to improve the system”.
Violence and feminicides on the rise
The Attorney General Federico Prato, who arrived a month ago, warned of some trends in crime, starting with violence and femicides. “It cannot be accepted that the defense of women continues to fail – ah – declared So that everyone learns, starting from school, to recognize violence in relationships“. Computer crimes are on the rise, including child pornography and child pornography. “We are inundated with files that will often remain against unknown people, because the servers are abroad and no one answers us – confirms the lagoon chief prosecutor Bruno Cherchi – Then there is the phenomenon of hackers and the dark web with which we are starting to confront” .
More suicides and self-harm in prisons
Covid has also increased the discomfort in prisons, dove the controls (2298 compared to 1907 “regulatory” posts, 47 more than a year ago) were forced to stringent isolations, often without being able to see their family for months. And so there were 5 suicides (one more than last year), 98 suicide attempts (plus one), but above all the acts of self-harm went from 674 to 745.
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January 23, 2022 (change January 23, 2022 | 18:01)
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