Introduction of the third degree of judgment in San Marino, the Bar Association: “It is dictated by singular and contingent reasons”
Press release from the Order of Lawyers and Notaries of the Republic of San Marino on the amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure.
“In the face of the usual announcement of reforms never actually implemented, the recent parliamentary approval of important legal and procedural news of the San Marino judicial system stands out.
Of course, not the ‘reform of the reforms’, that is, a new Code of Criminal Procedure, which the historical context probably does not allow. And yet a series of several and important reforms, which are aimed at making the criminal trial more modern and ‘European’, with the introduction of relevant elements of efficiency and guarantee, also by virtue of alternative institutions for its definition.
Like that of the judiciary, the reform of the criminal procedure also saw the contribution of the Magistracy and the Advocacy, which participated in the drafting of the project making a full-fledged meaningful contribution.
However, it should be noted that, against the opinion of the Bar which has not been asked at all, a provision was recently introduced dictated by singular and contingent reasons, because they explicitly refer to the fate of a single ongoing trial.
The rule, with regard to a specific phase of the trial – the Third Instance – does not appear to be consistent with the constitutional and conventional guarantee of the parties’ right to a reasonable duration for each trial and for each phase, none excluded.
We are also confident that, with the conclusion of the recent reform process, we can start a renewed season of San Marino justice, characterized in terms of quality, efficiency and speed, in the wake of the guarantees of a European-style ‘fair trial’ “.