ABSTRACT

The conduct of a recent criminal trial in the Vatican City State brought to the attention of the doctrine and the question of the legitimation, on the level of international law, of the sentences pronounced by its judicial authorities. According to some opinions, in fact, the criminal procedural system, borrowed from the Italian one of 1913, and the judicial system do not ensure the fundamental rights of defense of the accused, the guarantees of independence, autonomy of the jurisdiction and the presumption of innocence of the accused. 

The analysis of the procedural system, especially in light of the numerous reforms introduced by Pope Francis which have profoundly transformed the regulatory fabric, demonstrates, however, that the doubts are not well founded. The regime of evidence formation and the cross-examination ensured during the hearing, in fact, are adequately monitored by the limits of usability of the investigative documents; the selection mechanism of the magistrates and their irremovability, then, guarantees the impartiality and impartiality of the judges in a manner corresponding to what happens in other countries.

Alessandro Diddi