Abstract

On July 31st 2006, fifteen years after the last law on pardon was approved, Parliament passed law no 241. In terms of pardon, law 241/2006 has an extensive application with regard both to reduction of sentences and validity over time. This law provoked a huge debate, oriented by the media, aimed at criticizing not only the content of this law, but more generally the implementation of pardon provisions. This article, on the contrary, argues in favour of the law in terms of: "ratio legis", impact on the prison system and legal mechanisms. It also demonstrates how the more nebulous aspects of the law are the result of the entrenched procedure provided for by art. 79 of the Constitution as amended in 1992. It should be noted, in fact, that law 241/2006 is the first pardon law passed after the 1992 reform. The author argues in favour of a new Constitutio- nal amendment, so as to transform acts of mercy into instruments enacting policies against crime and allow for effective judicial review by the Constitutional Court. A forthcoming article of the author will address the guidelines for such an amendment, taking into account decision no. 200 of 2006 of the Italian Constitutional Court.