A bitter confrontation on justice reform, fuelled by former Premier Matteo Renzi, on Friday threatened the stability of Italy’s already fragile coalition government.

The row is over the statute of limitation, under which criminal cases are dropped, except for very serious crimes such as murder, if a final verdict is not reached within a stipulated time.

The statute of limitation was partly abolished by a reform sponsored by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S). It was agreed under a previous government, but became effective in January.

Renzi’s Italy Alive party wants to scrap that reform, while other coalition partners, the Democratic Party (PD), and the leftist Free and Equals (LeU) party, are happy to just water it down.

In Italy, the wheels of justice turn slowly and it is not unusual for defendants to walk free due to overly long criminal trials. The M5S wanted to put a stop to that.

“Putting a time limit on how long the justice system can take to try someone is a key civil liberties protection. However, Lawyers,” associations agree.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, held crisis talks earlier, in which the M5S, PD and LeU agreed on a compromise solution, but was rejected by Italy.

“In my humble opinion, there is no majority for this three-party agreement,” Renzi said.

Renzi’s party is a small party, but its support is critical in the Senate.

It is threatening to back an opposition Bill on justice matters, in a move that could precipitate a government crisis.

 

 

 

 

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