Berlusconi's immunity-for-me law overturned

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's law that grants him immunity from prosecution has been overturned. Berlusconi, a media tycoon who uses his control over the press to stay in office (I've met dozens of Italian activists who uttered the improbable phrase, "Thank God for Rupert Murdoch, Berlusconi can't bully him," which should give you an idea of what sort of person he is), passed the immunity law, arguing that he couldn't govern effectively if he could be sued or criminally prosecuted for wrongdoing. Several pending lawsuits will now go forward.

The appeal to the Constitutional Court was launched by prosecutors including those from the Mills case.
They contended that immunity put Mr Berlusconi above the law and needed to be reversed.
Mr Berlusconi argued that immunity allowed him to govern without being "distracted" by the judiciary.
This is the second time Italy's highest court has thrown out Mr Berlusconi's bid for immunity, after an earlier attempt in 2004 failed.
Of the Constitutional Court's 15 members, five are selected by the president, five by the judiciary, and five by parliament.
They voted 9-6 to in favour of lifting Mr Berlusconi's immunity, the BBC's Duncan Kennedy says from Rome.

Berlusconi immunity law overruled (Thanks, Pico!)

(Image: The Economist)

Previously:

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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Anonymous

Berlusconi is a snake. Unfortunately a lot of the Italian public actually like his ways with women!
javi

http://thezaz.nationallampoon.com/files/2009/08/lex-luthor.jpg
phisrow

The fact that that wasn’t 15-0 disturbs me.
Anonymous

People in Europe should be concerned about what Berlusconi does because of his strong links with the Mafia. It’s worth noting that the Mafia as well as the Camorra and the Ndrangheta aren’t confined in southern Italy anymore. They have set their foot in the Milan stock exchange and are rapidly spreading in northern europe.
Whoever think the Mafia is something like The Godfather is deeply wrong.

Petra Reski (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra_Reski), a german journalist who wrote a book in german about the Mafia was threatened even before the book was translated in Italian and distributed in Italy.

http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=hp&hl=en&js=y&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.standaard.be%2FArtikel%2FDetail.aspx%3FartikelId%3DF12F0EFJ%26subsection%3D168&sl=auto&tl=en&history_state0=

A must read book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gomorrah_%28book%29
Anonymous

it’s his 2nd time trying to get immunity?!? I’m glad the Italian people got equality for ALL under the law.
http://www.newsy.com/videos/berlusconi_stuck_on_the_hook
FutureNerd

Next thing you know they’ll be having a coup like in Honduras.
http://www.iltufo.it fumo

and if you want to know deeper about dis sitcom from different POW:
http://www.sergiomessina.com/blog/?p=287 and
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6297041.ece
cazzulati

@phishrow: five of the court members were elected by the very same parliament that mr. berlusconi controls. and two of the members were caught in a “secret” dinner with berlusconi and his minister of justice alfano a few weeks ago, before the debate (another unbelievable scandal).