The United Criminal Sections of the Court of Cassation examined the manner of interpreting Article 75.2 of legislative decree No. 159 of 2011, after the decision of the ECHR Court of 23 February 2017 on the case de Tommaso v. Italy. The Article imposes some obligations upon those subjected to special preventive surveillance measures due to public security, including the prescriptions of “living honestly and respecting the law”. In the views of the ECHR Court, said provision is too much vague in content and thus in breach of various articles of the ECHR (concerning the legality principle in criminal matters, the individual right to fair trial, etc.) and Article 2 of Protocol No. 4 to the ECHR. The United Sections agreed on the fact that, due to its wording, Article 75.2 is unable to set up an autonomous criminal offense as far the prescriptions of living honestly and respecting the law are concerned; non-respect of this moral exhortation can have as an effect just to possibly aggravate the preventive surveillance measure. So said, there was no necessity for the Court to raise a constitutionality issue concerning Article 75.2; however, the II Criminal Section of the Court subsequently raised the issue, actually, by order No. 49194 of 25 October 2017.
Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, Grand Chamber, 23 February 2017, de Tommaso v. Italy; Decree of the Court of Milan, Autonomous Section on Preventive Measures, No. 13 of 7 March 2017; Order of the Court of Appeal of Naples, VIII Criminal Section, 15 March 201; Decree of the Court of Palermo, I Criminal Section – measures of prevention, 28 March 2017; Decree of the Court of Rome, Preventive Measures Section, No. 30 of 3 April 2017; Order of the Court of Udine, Criminal Section, 4 April 201; Decree of the Court of Palermo, I Criminal Section – preventive measures, 16-29 May 2017; Decree of the Court of Palermo, I Section on Preventive Measures, No. 62 of 1 June 2017; Order of the Court of Cassation, II Criminal Section, No. 49194 of 25 October 2017