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Italy PM Berlusconi may face third corruption trial: reports

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could face a third corruption trial based on new information that recently surfaced, according to Saturday reports. Berlusconi, who is already facing two separate trials on charges of corruption and bribery, is accused of embezzlement and tax fraud related to his television company Mediaset, though his lawyers have dismissed any substance to the charges. Berlusconi's son and 11 other members of Mediaset's board are also implicated. A Milan judge will decide if there is enough evidence to hold a trial, which could begin as early as February. In October, the Italian Constitutional Court struck down a 2008 law granting immunity to Berlusconi and four others, allowing charges to be reinstated. Earlier this week, the Italian Senate approved a bill to place time limits on the trial process, which would have the effect of dismissing charges against Berlusconi. Last week, Italian judges postponed Berlusconi's corruption trial at his lawyers' request. He is charged with paying his British lawyer David Mills to provide false testimony in two trials involving Mediaset. Berlusconi's tax fraud trial has also been postponed. Berlusconi has been previously acquitted of false accounting and bribery, and has had some other charges against him dropped.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 24, 2010 (boomark / email).