LThe Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has decided, by a majority, to dismiss, technically to strike out, the appeal filed in September 2013 by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, according to whom the application of the Severino law against him, which had led to his dismissal from the office of senator following his conviction for tax fraud, had violated several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights. Taking into account the fact that Berlusconi was rehabilitated on 11 May and his wish to withdraw the appeal, the Court concluded that there were “no special circumstances relating to respect for human rights” that would require the appeal to be continued. In the case of Silvio Berlusconi, according to the Strasbourg judges, who decided by a majority, there were no reasons to believe that the appeal should be further examined. Berlusconi's appeal to the Court focused, in detail, on several points: first of all, Berlusconi had argued that the application of the Severino law, which had prevented him from running for office and had led to his removal from office as a senator, had violated the principles of legality, foreseeability, proportionality and non-retroactive application of the penalty. Furthermore, for the leader of Forza Italia, the ineligibility provided for by the Severino law would also not respect the principles of legality and proportionality with respect to the intended purpose, thus violating his right to complete his electoral mandate and harming the legitimate expectation of voters that he would be a senator. The appellant had also complained about the lack of an accessible and effective remedy in the Italian legal system through which to challenge the compatibility of the legislative decree in question with the Convention and to challenge the Senate's decision of 27 November 2013, which had led to his removal from office as a senator. Berlusconi also complained that he had been banned from running for six years, as would have happened to a person who had been given a more severe accessory penalty of disqualification from holding public office. Silvio Berlusconi subsequently withdrew his appeal on 27 July 2018, in light of the rehabilitation granted by the Milan Surveillance Court, asking that the appeal be struck off the register, which the Court has now done.
The former prime minister's lawyers - Franco Coppi, Bruno Nascimbene, Andrea Saccucci and Niccolò Ghedini - explained in a note the reasons why the Forza Italia leader had withdrawn the appeal: "President Berlusconi, following an unjust conviction, had been deprived, with undue retroactive application of the so-called Severino law, of his political rights with consequent forfeiture from the Senate. In April of this year, the rehabilitation that occurred prematurely cancelled the effects of the aforementioned law. The ECHR, almost 5 years after the appeal was lodged, had not yet done so at that date. Obviously, as recognized today by the Court itself, there was no longer any need to continue with the appeal, as President Berlusconi had returned to full political rights. There was therefore no longer any interest after more than 5 years in obtaining a decision that we believe would have been favorable to President Berlusconi's reasons but which would not have had any concrete or useful effect, as the previous legislature had already ended. A condemnation of Italy would also have brought about further tensions in the already complex life of the country, a circumstance that President Berlusconi absolutely intended to avoid".
Article published on November 27, 2018 - 19:46
