The Pope updated the Vatican penal system with …

Pope Francis has updated the Vatican City penal system with the introduction of three new articles which consider sentence reductions for good behavior and alternative sentences to prison. With the “motu proprio” published on Tuesday (an instrument with which the Pope can dictate laws), the norms of the Vatican penal system are updated to “meet the needs of the time with more guarantees”. Francisco is a staunch defender of the possibility of social reintegration of convicts.

At the same time and after having received criticism for its poor performance, Vatican prosecutors seek to advance the sanction of “financial crimes” and the economic mismanagement of the masons and financiers of the Holy See. In recent years, the Vatican has updated its judicial system because the processes it has had to face due to increased internal oversight have increased.

Francisco, who He has always been attached to the situation of the prison population, signed a document that includes various modifications to the penal code of the papal state. The first article of the reform provides for a reduction from 45 to 120 days for each year of restrictive sentence already served whether the inmate “behaved in a manner that showed repentance and successfully participated in the treatment and reintegration program”.

In this direction Alternative sanctions can be proposed for works for the benefit of the community, such as “the execution of works of public utility, the voluntary service of activities of social importance, as well as conduct intended to promote, as far as possible, mediation with the affected person. All of this was not contemplated in the current Vatican State legal system.

The second article, in a guarantee code, eliminates the so-called “default process” which was still present in the Vatican code: in the event that the defendant did not appear, the lawsuit was given on the basis of documentation collected without the admission of defense witnesses. Now instead If the defendant refuses to attend the hearing without demonstrating a legitimate impediment, the normal procedure is followed, considering him represented by his defense counsel.

The change could be seen as necessary in light of the ongoing investigation into a $ 1 million Vatican investment in real estate. The investigation concerns Italian citizens who, if the case goes to court, could choose not to appear in court given the possibility of ending up in detention.

As part of this network of operations in the real estate market, the former president of the Institute of Works of Religion (IOR), the Bank of the Holy See, Angelo Caloia, was recently sentenced to nearly nine years of prison, accused of illegality to appropriate tens of millions of euros after the sale of twenty properties in Rome and Milan.

The third article, which bears the signature of Pope Francis, establishes that ordinary magistrates at the time of dismissal will retain all the rights, assistance, advantages and guarantees provided for citizens of the Vatican. Finally, a change is implemented in the second and third instance of the trial.

Until now, it was expected that in the event of an appeal and later in cassation, the prosecutor would be represented by a different magistrate from the one who led the prosecution in the first trial, with an ad hoc appointment for the trials. of the second and third degrees. From now on, it is provided that, also in the decisions of appeal and cassation, as is already the case in first instance, the functions of prosecution are exercised by a magistrate of the office of the promoter of justice, appointed by the promoter himself.

With these changes The Sovereign Pontiff consolidates the power of the accusation, specifying that the prosecutors of the Holy See will act at all stages of the appeal.

Recently Francisco appointed an expert in Italian labor law, Catia Summaria, as chief prosecutor of the court of appeal and appointed two new judges there, a possible sign that the Holy See is anticipating an increase in appeals.

In the particular structure of the Vatican City State, the Pope is legislator, executive and supreme judge. Over the years, the high pontiffs have made partial changes to the legal code of the city-state, which dates back to an Italian code of 1889 which is in disuse and also incorporates elements of canon law. The most recent reform consisted of a series of modifications for the sanctioning of financial crimes.