Joint Appeals in Criminal Proceedings: The Cassation Court's Stance with Judgment No. 32177 of 2025

The Italian judicial system is often a stage for procedural complexities, especially when criminal and civil aspects intertwine within the same proceedings. One of the major challenges concerns the management of appeals, which can involve both the defendant on the criminal front and the civil party for compensation claims. The recent judgment of the Court of Cassation No. 32177, filed on September 29, 2025, falls precisely within this context, offering a fundamental clarification on the application of Article 573, paragraph 1-bis, of the Code of Criminal Procedure and precisely delineating the boundaries of the 'simultaneus processus'.

The Issue at the Heart of the Ruling: Art. 573 c.p.p. and Mixed Appeals

The Cassation Court's ruling, authored by Dr. M. B. Magro, addresses a crucial point that emerged with the introduction of Article 573, paragraph 1-bis, c.p.p., a provision intended by the Cartabia Reform (Legislative Decree 10/10/2022 No. 150, Art. 33, paragraph 1, letter a). This provision stipulates that if the civil party's appeal concerns exclusively civil interests and the criminal part of the judgment has become final, the criminal judge shall transmit the case files to the competent civil judge. The objective is to decongest criminal dockets by delegating the decision on purely civil matters to the natural judge for such issues.

However, the case examined by the Court presented a more complex situation: the defendant, identified as G. P. M. G. L., had appealed his conviction for supplying narcotic substances in exchange for sexual services, while the civil party had appealed the acquittal for the related offense of sexual violence. This coexistence of appeals, one criminal and the other civil, both pertaining to connected facts, required the Supreme Court to determine whether, even in these circumstances, the principle of 'separation' provided for by Article 573, paragraph 1-bis, c.p.p. should apply.

In matters of appeals, the provisions of Article 573, paragraph 1-bis, of the Code of Criminal Procedure do not apply when the criminal aspect of the case is not exhausted because the defendant has filed a concurrent appeal against the criminal parts of the conviction judgment connected to those civil parts appealed by the civil party. In such cases, a 'simultaneus processus' arises, justifying joint consideration before the criminal judge. (Factual situation where the defendant appealed the conviction for supplying narcotic substances in exchange for sexual services, while the civil party appealed the acquittal for the related offense of sexual violence).

The Cassation Court's summary is extremely clear: Article 573, paragraph 1-bis, c.p.p. does not apply when the