The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rules against Italy for failing to act promptly after a woman reported her ex-partner for repeated abuse and stalking.
In its ruling on Thursday, the ECHR criticised the impact of Italy’s judicial system, highlighting how the statute of limitations and delays in legal proceedings have led to many domestic abuse cases being shelved.
The woman took her case to the European court in 2019, a decade after she first reported her partner’s abuse to the Italian authorities in 2009. The Strasbourg-based court noted that it took three months for her criminal complaint to be registered. Her former partner was indicted four years later, and the first-instance sentence was issued six years after the complaint.
Sixteen months later, an appeals court acquitted the man of offences committed before 25 February 2009, as the relevant law had not yet come into effect. The court also ruled that the statute of limitations had expired for offences committed after that date.
The ECHR stressed that states must act swiftly in cases of abuse against women. It found no evidence that the Italian authorities showed a genuine commitment to ensuring the former partner was held accountable. Instead, it concluded that national courts had failed in their duty to provide a speedy trial and prevent the accused from avoiding justice due to time limits. The ruling criticised the authorities for not responding appropriately to the severity of the offences, effectively granting the man total impunity.
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