Vatican
City, 11 July 2013 (VIS) – Published below is the full text of a
presentation given by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for
Relations with States, on the laws approved by the Pontifical
Commission for Vatican City State:
“The
laws approved by the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State
bring about a broad-ranging normative change, necessary for the
function that this State, entirely sui generis, is called upon to
carry out for the benefit of the Apostolic See. The original and
foundational aim of the Vatican, which consists of guaranteeing the
freedom of the exercise of the Petrine ministry, indeed requires an
institutional structure that, the limited dimensions of the territory
notwithstanding, assumes a complexity in some respects similar to
that of contemporary States.
“Established
by the Lateran Pacts of 1929, the State adopted the judicial, civil
and penal structures of the Kingdom of Italy in their entirety, in
the conviction that this would be sufficient to regulate the legal
relationships within a State whose reason for existence lies in the
support of the spiritual mission of Peter’s Successor. The original
penal system – constituted by the Italian Penal Code on 30 June
1889 and the Italian Penal Code of 27 February 1913, in force from 7
June 1929 – has seen only marginal modifications and even the new
law on sources of law (No. 71 of 1 October 2008) confirms the
criminal legislation of 1929, while awaiting an overall redefinition
of the discipline.
“The
most recently approved laws, while not constituting a radical reform
of the penal system, revise some aspects and complete it in other
areas, satisfying a number of requirements. On the one hand, these
laws take up and develop the theme of the evolution of the Vatican
judicial structure, continuing the action undertaken by Pope Benedict
XVI in 2010 to prevent and combat money-laundering and the financing
of terrorism. In this regard, the provisions contained in the 2000
United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime, the
1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic
Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, and the 1999 International
Convention for the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism, are to be
implemented, along with other conventions defining and specifying
terrorist activity.
“The
new laws also introduce other forms of crime indicated in various
international conventions already ratified by the Holy See in
international contexts and which will now be implemented in domestic
law. Among these conventions, the following are worthy of mention:
the 1984 Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the 1965 International Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the 1989
International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 2000
Optional Protocols, the 1949 Geneva Conventions on War Crimes, etc. A
separate section is dedicated to crimes against humanity, including
genocide and other crimes defined by international common law, along
the lines of the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal
Court. From a substantial point of view, finally, further items of
note are the revision of crimes against the public administration, in
line with the provisions included in the 2003 United Nations
Convention Against Corruption, as well as the abolition of the life
sentence, to be substituted by a maximum custodial sentence of 30 to
35 years.
“While
many of the specific criminal offences included in these laws are
undeniably new, it would however be incorrect to assume that the
forms of conduct thereby sanctioned were previously licit. These were
indeed punished, but as broader, more generic forms of criminal
activity. The introduction of the new regulations is useful to define
the specific cases with greater certainty and precision and to thus
satisfy the international parameters, calibrating the sanctions to
the specific gravity of the case.
“Some
of the new categories of criminal activity introduced (for instance,
crimes against the security of air or maritime navigation or against
the security of airports or fixed platforms) may appear excessive
considering the geographic characteristics of Vatican City State.
However, such regulations have on the one hand the function of
ensuring respect for international anti-terrorism parameters, and on
the other, they are necessary to ensure compatibility with the
condition of so-called “dual criminality”, to enable the
extradition of persons charged or convicted of crimes committed
abroad should they seek refuge in Vatican City State.
“Special
emphasis is given to the discipline of 'civil responsibility of
juridical persons derived from a criminal violation' (Arts. 46-51 of
the law containing complementary regulations on criminal matters),
introducing sanctions for juridical persons involved in criminal
activities as defined by the current international legal framework.
To this end an attempt has been made to reconcile the traditionally
cautious approach observable also in the canonical order, according
to which “societas puniri non potest” with the need, ever more
evident in the international context, to establish adequate and
deterrent penalties also against juridical persons who profit from
crime. The solution adopted was therefore that of establishing
administrative responsibility of juridical persons, obviously when it
is possible to demonstrate that a crime was committed in the
interests of or to the advantage of that same juridical person.
“Significant
modifications are introduced also in terms of procedure. These
include: updates in the discipline of requisition, strengthened by
measures regarding the preventative freezing of assets; an explicit
statement of the principles of fair trial within a reasonable time
limit and with the presumption of innocence; the reformulation of
regulations regarding international judicial cooperation with the
adoption of the measures established by the most recent international
conventions.
“From
a technical and regulatory point of view, the plurality of sources
available to experts was organised by means of their combination in a
harmonious and coherent body of legislation which, in the frameworks
of the Church’s magisterium and the juridical-canonical tradition,
the principal source of Vatican law (Art. 1, Para. 1, Law No. 71 on
the sources of law, 1 October 2008) takes into account simultaneously
the norms established by international conventions and the Italian
juridical tradition, reference to which has always been made by the
Vatican legal order.
“In
order to better order a legislative work with such broad-ranging
content, it has been drafted as two distinct laws. One brings
together all the legislation consisting of modifications to the penal
code and the code of criminal procedure; the other will instead
consist of legislation of a nature which does not permit a
homogeneous section within the code structure and is therefore
gathered in form of a latere or complementary penal code.
Finally,
the penal reform hitherto presented is completed with the adoption by
the Holy Father Francis of a specific Motu proprio, also bearing
yesterday’s date, which extends the reach of the legislation
contained in these criminal laws to the members, officials and
employees of the various bodies of the Roman Curia, connected
Institutions, bodies subordinate to the Holy See and canonical
juridical persons, as well as pontifical legates and diplomatic staff
of the Holy See. This extension has the aim of making the crimes
included in these laws indictable by the judicial organs of Vatican
City State even when committed outside the borders of the state.
“Among
the laws adopted yesterday by the Pontifical Commission for Vatican
City State there is also the law consisting of general legislation on
the subject of administrative sanctions. This law had already been
proposed in Art. 7, Paragraph 4 of Law 71 on the sources of law of 1
October 2008, and establishes the general principles and regulation
of the application of administrative sanctions.
“For
some time there has long been an awareness of the expedience of an
intermediate tertium genus between penal and civil offences, also in
relation to the growing relevance of administrative offences. As a
discipline of principle, the provisions of such a law would be used
whenever another law establishes the imposition of administrative
penalties for a breach of law, no doubt to specify the procedure for
their application to the competent authority and the order of other
minor effects.
“One
of the cornerstones of the system introduced by this law is
constituted by the so-called rule of law, as a result of which
administrative sanctions may be imposed only in cases defined by law.
The procedure for implementation is divided into a phase of
investigation and challenge of the infringement by the competent
offices, and a second phase of imposition of the sanction, which will
fall within the competences of the President of the Governorate.
Finally, there will be the right to appeal heard by a single judge
except in more cases of more severe penalties, for which the
jurisdiction of the Court is established.
“To
conclude this brief presentation, it may be observed that the laws
indicated above are notable not only for their undeniable substantial
and systematic relevance, but also because they represent a further
significant step on the part of the Vatican legislator towards the
refinement of its legal code, necessary to assume and promote the
constructive and useful proposals of the international Community with
a view to more intense international cooperation and a more effective
pursuit of the common good”.
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