Commentary on Judgment No. 17171 of 2023: Stalking and Abuse of Process

The recent judgment No. 17171 of January 16, 2023, by the Court of Cassation provides important clarifications regarding the configuration of stalking offenses, highlighting how repeated and unfounded legal actions can constitute the crime of harassment. Specifically, the case examined concerns an alleged creditor who initiated twenty-three legal actions over ten years, based on forged documents. This conduct was deemed not only abusive but also constituting harassment against the debtor.

The Notion of Stalking and Forgeries

According to Article 612-bis of the Criminal Code, stalking offenses are defined as behaviors that constitute harassment and infringe upon a person's freedom and dignity. In the case at hand, the creditor's conduct resulted in a series of unfounded legal actions, using forged documents to justify their claims. This approach led the Court to conclude that such actions constitute not only abuse of process but also harassment.

The judgment clarifies that the repetition of legal actions, in the absence of a valid legal basis, not only harms the debtor but also constitutes a crime in itself. In this regard, it is useful to consider the following aspects:

• Forgery of documents: The use of forged documents to initiate legal actions is severely punished by law.
• Repetition of legal actions: Where there is a continuous and unjustified legal aggression, the crime of harassment is constituted.
• Abuse of process: The improper use of legal institutions for personal persecution is condemned by jurisprudence.

Stalking offenses - Harassment - Notion - Repeated judicial actions based on forged titles - Configurability - Reasons - Abuse of process - Existence. In the context of stalking offenses, repeated actions initiated in civil proceedings (in this case, twenty-three in ten years), based on a single contractual reason, by an alleged creditor who had prepared enforcement titles founded on documents he had forged and had therefore availed himself of facts knowingly invented for the purpose of unilaterally and unjustifiably aggravating the debtor's position, carried out with abuse of process, constitute harassment, an element of the crime, given that the forgery of titles and the repetition of judicial action result in one of the alternative events provided for by Article 612-bis of the Criminal Code.

Legal Implications and Conclusions

Judgment No. 17171 of 2023 represents an important affirmation of Italian jurisprudence on stalking offenses and abuse of process. It underscores the need for responsible use of legal actions and warns against the consequences of abusive conduct. Victims of such abuses can avail themselves of the protection offered by the law, while those who undertake unfounded legal actions risk severe criminal penalties.

In a legal context increasingly attentive to the protection of individual rights, this judgment serves as a deterrent for misconduct, promoting greater responsibility in the use of legal tools.