In judgment No. 131, decided on 26 November 2024 and filed on 3 January 2025, the Fifth Criminal Section of the Court of Cassation examined the limits of an appeal against an order concerning access to restorative justice programmes. The correct judgment reference is therefore 131/2025.

Access conditions and reasoning

According to official headnote Rv. 287434-03, the order cannot be challenged for defective reasoning where the assessment of the statutory conditions rests on reasoning that is neither manifestly illogical nor contradictory. The assessment concerns actual factual circumstances relating both to the usefulness of resolving the issues arising from the alleged offence and to the absence of a concrete danger to those concerned or to the ascertainment of the facts.

The mediators' separate assessment

The Court distinguishes that assessment by the trial judge from the later assessment of the programme's feasibility, which may fall to the mediators. Admissibility of the request and practical feasibility are therefore separate questions.

The principle concerns these limits on reviewing the reasoning. It does not make every refusal immune from review or guarantee that a programme can be implemented in every case.

Official sources: Corte di cassazione, Rassegna del Massimario.