Dear Editor,
I realize that Startmag is a newspaper that dedicates very little space – at most some commentary or italics – to politics because its editorial focus is on economy, technology, energy, finance, industry, and a bit of geopolitics, but the Minetti case has prompted me to some further reflection. Or rather, a thought I want to share with you.
First of all: what does the power of pardon entail?
Let’s see what is written on the Quirinale website:
Article 87 of the Constitution provides, in the eleventh paragraph, that the President of the Republic may, by his own decree, grant pardons and commute sentences. It is a clemency institution of very ancient origin that extinguishes, in whole or in part, the penalty imposed by the irrevocable sentence or transforms it into another type of penalty provided by law (for example, temporary imprisonment instead of life imprisonment or a fine instead of imprisonment). The pardon also extinguishes accessory penalties, if the decree expressly provides so; however, it does not extinguish the other penal effects of the conviction (art. 174 c.p.). Pursuant to art. 681 of the code of criminal procedure, it may be subject to conditions.
The procedure for granting a pardon is governed by art. 681 of the code of criminal procedure. The pardon request is addressed to the President of the Republic and must be submitted to the Minister of Justice. It is signed by the convicted person, by a close relative, by the cohabitant, by the guardian or curator, or by a lawyer. If the convicted person is detained or interned, the request may also be directly submitted to the supervisory magistrate. The president of the disciplinary council of the penitentiary institution may propose, as a reward, the pardon in favor of the detainee who has distinguished himself for particularly meritorious behavior.
The pardon request or proposal is reviewed by the Attorney General at the Court of Appeal and, if the convicted person is detained – even at home – or entrusted to social services on probation, by the Supervisory Magistrate. For this purpose, they acquire all useful information relating, among other things, to the legal position of the convicted person, the forgiveness granted by the persons harmed by the crime, the information provided by the Police Forces, the assessments of the heads of the Penitentiary Institutions …. Once the opinions are acquired, the Minister forwards the pardon request or proposal, accompanied by the investigation documents, to the Head of State, attaching his own “advice,” favorable or unfavorable to the granting of the benefit. As established by the Constitutional Court with ruling no. 200 of 2006, the final decision rests with the Head of State.
Therefore, the final decision rests with the President of the Republic. In short, it does not seem to me that the Head of State is a mere rubber-stamper.
But in the Corriere della sera I read: “’What were we supposed to do, send the Corazzieri to investigate?’ is the bitter remark explaining that the Quirinale ‘does not have autonomous investigative tools’ and it is implied that the Office for Justice Affairs of the Quirinale cannot do the work that belongs to the magistrates.”
However, in the same Corriere della sera I read this question in a passage of a news article that went unnoticed: “But why was the story underlying the act of clemency not verified at the Quirinale, given that in his second term Mattarella has granted only 27 pardons out of 1,500?”
Dear Editor, it is right to criticize and highlight the “mischiefs” of the Ministry of Justice – also because the often less ministerial and institutional speech of Minister Carlo Nordio attracts criticism and reproaches – but sometimes asking some questions buried in so much predictable syrup would be appropriate, as Corriere della sera did today perhaps not even consciously.
Anyway, in my opinion the Quirinale is considering the revocation of Minetti’s pardon. After all, even a constitutionalist like Stefano Ceccanti has indirectly outlined this scenario.
Thank you for your attention, sorry for the intrusion on topics not typical of Startmag and best regards.
Michelangelo Colombo
