Trieste: a new exception about sovereignty & jurisdiction
Article from the website of environmentalist organization Greenaction Transnational.
Source: LINK
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TRIESTE: LAWYER BERNOT LODGES A NEW EXCEPTION ABOUST SOVEREIGNTY AND JURISDICTION
Trieste, 5 January 2012. – Question Trieste is gaining attention.
On December 14th [2011] Roberto Giurastante, president of Greenaction Transnational, environmentalist and civil rights organization Greenaction Transnational lodged an exception regarding jurisdiction before the Court of Trieste. The exception declares that Italian authorities, as such, have no authority in the Province of Trieste (read more HERE). Now also Livio Bernot of the Court of Gorizia, lawyer of the Triestine environmentalists and known for his previous lawsuits in international law, lodged the same exception before the Trieste Justice of the Peace in his own trial.
Lawyer Bernot’s exception seeks the proceeding’s suspension and the submission of all documentation to the Constitutional Court.
In his exception, the layer argues that since he is accused of a crime committed in Trieste, under all international treaties in force within the Italian legal order, as well as under art. 10 of the Constitution, the Italian State has no jurisdiction over the Province of Trieste.
Indeed, Italy recognizes it as Free Territory of Trieste under the 1947 Italian Peace Treaty.
Lawyer Bernot pointed out in his exception that under art. 3, paragraph 1 of the criminal code:
“Italian criminal law bounds anyone, be them Italian or foreign nationals, on the State’s national territory, except in cases established under domestic public law or international law”.
Under art. 4, paragraph 2 of the criminal code:
“Under criminal law, “the State’s territory” is the “Republic’s” territory, that of its colony, and any other place subject to State sovereignty.
Finally, under art. 6, paragraph 2 of the criminal code:
“A crime is committed in the State’s national territory when the action or omission in question took place there, completely or in part, meaning, the event constituting the consequence of the action or omission happened there”.
The city of Trieste is not part of the “State’s national territory“. Indeed since 1947 it is the capital city of the Free Territory of Trieste – FTT.
The present-day Free Territory of Trieste (since 1992).