Council of Europe: Commissioner for Human Rights asks the Italian Senate to refrain from adopting the security bill which runs against human rights

Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty addressed a letter to the President of the Senate of Italy, Ignazio La Russa, on 16 December 2024, asking the Senate to refrain from adopting Bill 1236 on public security, unless it is substantially amended to ensure that it complies with Council of Europe human rights standards.

The Commissioner's letter states that "[t]he rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, are a cornerstone of democratic society". The bill, if adopted, would not only violate such fundamental freedoms, but would be contrary to the principles of the rule of law, as it would "introduce offences that are defined in vague terms, and include[s] other severe restrictions, create[s] room for arbitrary and disproportionate application, affecting activities that represent a legitimate exercise of freedom of peaceful assembly or expression". Member States enjoy a certain margin of discretion, but this is not unlimited, as evidenced by the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.

Moreover, If adopted, Bill 1236 would criminalize, for example, acts such as interrupting road traffic by using one's own body. In this regard, the Commissioner recalls in the letter that the European Court has repeatedly stated that a peaceful demonstration should not, in principle, be subject to the threat of criminal sanction and, in particular, deprivation of liberty. The Commissioner also points to some provisions that "restrict the rights of people in prisons or detention centres, who may have limited recourse to institutional avenues to defend their rights" and measures that "appear specifically designed to target environmental protesters, including young human rights defenders."