Type: Judgment

Authority: National Courts: Supreme Courts (Italy) - Corte di Cassazione - Sezione I civile

Date: 01/17/2006

Subject: Italian legislation which sets restrictions on the franchise of a person serving a custodial sentence including a permanent barring from public office is not contrary to article 3 of the first protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights as interpreted by the ECHR through its decision of 30 March 2004 in Hirst v The United Kingdom. Under Italian law disenfranchisement applies only to persons sentenced for crimes entailing a penalty exceeding three years, while disenfranchisement is temporary for custodial sentences of up to five years and allows, in the case of sentences of more than five years' imprisonment, the cancellation of the ancillary penalty of the permanent ban from public office through rehabilitation.

Parties: Scoppola contro Commissione Elettorale Circondariale di Roma e Ministero dell'Interno

Original language: Italian

Classification: Art. 49 Proportionality of penalties

Text