Italy Constitutional Court clears path for investigation into Giusi Bartolozzi

The Italian Constitutional Court has ruled that the Rome Prosecutor’s Office can proceed with investigations into Giusi Bartolozzi, the former chief of staff to the Ministry of Justice, regarding allegations of providing false information to a ministerial tribunal.

The ruling follows a conflict of attribution raised by the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber argued that Bartolozzi required parliamentary authorization to be prosecuted, as her alleged actions were connected to investigations involving high-ranking officials, including Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, regarding the January 2025 arrest and subsequent release of Libyan General Osama Almasri.

In sentence number 190, the Court partially accepted the Chamber’s appeal. It ruled that while the Ministerial Tribunal should have explicitly explained why it did not consider Bartolozzi a co-conspirator in the crimes attributed to the Minister, the legal protections afforded to ministers do not extend to third-party staff for the specific charge of false statements. Consequently, parliamentary authorization is not required for the prosecution of Bartolozzi on these specific charges.