The Inspectorate General of the Ministry of Justice has started monitoring 13 Public Prosecutor's Offices regarding their methods of communicating with ongoing criminal proceedings.
The prosecutors' offices involved are Avellino, Brescia, Cagliari, Ferrara, Catanzaro, Frosinone, Livorno, Rimini, Rovigo, Tempio Pausania, Vercelli, Latina, and Turin. The announcement was made by Undersecretary of Justice Andrea Delmastro Delle Vedove in response to a question from Azione MP Enrico Costa in the Chamber of Deputies.
The government has declared its intention to guarantee the presumption of innocence and avoid media sensationalism, which can influence citizens' perception of justice.
A complete revision of the discipline of investigative acts is being considered, with particular attention to wiretapping, and rules have been introduced to strengthen the privacy of third parties. The public prosecutor will have the obligation to monitor even the rough drafts, while the judge will have to exclude everything that concerns third parties, prohibiting the disclosure of their data.
The undersecretary cited the ban on publishing the full text or extracts of the pre-trial detention order and mentioned the 2021 decree for the strengthening of the right to defense, which prohibits the PM from interacting with the press outside of press releases or press conferences.
Directives have been issued for monitoring the motivated actions of the Public Prosecutors regarding the authorization of press conferences and press releases of the investigating bodies.
The Inspectorate General has activated monitoring in the Public Prosecutor's Offices involved starting from the ordinary inspections of September 2023. Delmastro assured that the intention is to extend monitoring also to the denomination of the proceedings, in consideration of the presumption of innocence.
