ORDER NO. 124
YEAR 2026
ITALIAN REPUBLIC
IN THE NAME OF THE ITALIAN PEOPLE
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
composed of:
President: Giovanni AMOROSO;
Judges: Francesco VIGANÒ, Luca ANTONINI, Stefano PETITTI, Angelo BUSCEMA, Emanuela NAVARRETTA, Maria Rosaria SAN GIORGIO, Marco D’ALBERTI, Giovanni PITRUZZELLA, Antonella SCIARRONE ALIBRANDI, Massimo LUCIANI, Maria Alessandra SANDULLI, Roberto Nicola CASSINELLI, Francesco Saverio MARINI,
has issued the following
ORDER
in the proceedings regarding a conflict of attribution between State powers arising from both the judgment of the Ordinary Court of Matera, Criminal Section, dated 1 March 2024, no. 225, rendered in criminal proceedings no. 2664/21 R.G.N.R. against the then-Senator Saverio De Bonis, and the orders rejecting the plea of applicability of Art. 68, first paragraph, of the Constitution and adjourning the hearings of 3 February, 9 June, and 1 December 2023, as well as 16 February 2024, brought by the Senate of the Republic, via an application notified on 9 January 2026, filed with the registry on 23 January 2026, registered as no. 5 in the register of conflicts between State powers for the year 2025, and published in the Official Gazette of the Republic no. 6, First Special Series, of the year 2026, merits phase.
Having regard to the statements of intervention of F. C. and the Chamber of Deputies;
having heard the Judge Rapporteur Francesco Saverio Marini in the chambers on 6 July 2026;
having deliberated in the chambers on 6 July 2026.
Considering that, by an application filed on 28 April 2025 (reg. confl. pot. no. 5 of 2025), the Senate of the Republic initiated a conflict of attribution between State powers against the Ordinary Court of Matera, Criminal Section, with reference both to the judgment of 1 March 2024, no. 225, and to the orders rejecting the plea of applicability of Art. 68, first paragraph, of the Constitution and adjourning the hearings of the relevant criminal proceedings, issued by said Court on 3 February, 9 June, and 1 December 2023, as well as 16 February 2024;
that, with the aforementioned judgment, the Court of Matera convicted the then-Senator Saverio De Bonis of the crime of aggravated defamation (Art. 595, third paragraph, of the Criminal Code), for having reproduced, on 16 August 2021, on his Facebook page an article dating back to 2006 published by the newspaper "La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno", titled "Contaminated wheat: entrepreneur knew", to which the defendant had added the following note: "the year was 2006 and the entrepreneur – according to findings – knew about the ochratoxin from the moment of the purchase of the wheat in Canada";
that, on that occasion, Senator De Bonis allegedly harmed the reputation of the entrepreneur F. C., endorsing the hypothesis that the latter had marketed contaminated wheat, despite the acquittal previously obtained in criminal proceedings in relation to that fact;
that the Senate reports that, during the criminal proceedings against Senator De Bonis, the defense raised a plea regarding the non-justiciability of the conduct attributed to the defendant, as it constituted an opinion expressed in the exercise of parliamentary functions pursuant to Art. 68, first paragraph, of the Constitution;
that the Court, instead of issuing a judgment of acquittal pursuant to Art. 129 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, or referring the issue concerning non-justiciability to the Senate of the Republic by means of an order, proceeded with the trial during the hearings of 3 February, 9 June, and 1 December 2023, as well as 16 February 2024;
that, finally, the Court rendered the aforementioned conviction, currently subject to appeal, on 1 March 2024;
that this Court, by order no. 181 of 2025, declared admissible, pursuant to Art. 37 of Law no. 87 of 11 March 1953 (Rules on the constitution and functioning of the Constitutional Court), the application for a conflict of attribution between State powers brought by the Senate of the Republic against the same Court of Matera, Criminal Section;
that, by a document filed on 29 December 2025, F. C. intervened in the proceedings, in his own capacity and as the legal representative pro tempore of C. spa SB, requesting that the application submitted by the Senate of the Republic be dismissed;
that the intervener states that he appeared as a civil party against Saverio De Bonis in the criminal proceedings no. 2664/2021 R.G.N.R., in order to obtain, upon the finding of the defendant's criminal liability, compensation for all pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages, in addition to the reimbursement of legal and defense costs;
that the intervener argues that he holds a legally qualified interest, which may be prejudiced by the outcome of the conflict of attribution, as he is a party to the criminal proceedings concluded with the judgment no. 225 of 2024 of the Court of Matera;
that, according to F. C., the intervention is admissible in light of constitutional jurisprudence, according to which, in proceedings for conflicts of attribution between State powers, the intervention of a party to common proceedings whose outcomes or effects may be conditioned by the decision of this Court is permitted;
that, by provision dated 11 June 2026, notified to the parties, the hearing in chambers was set for 6 July 2026 to address the decision on the admissibility of the intervention by F. C.
Considering that, pursuant to Art. 5, paragraph 1, of the Supplementary Rules for proceedings before the Constitutional Court – as amended by the resolution of this Court of 12 March 2026, which entered into force on 8 May 2026 – this Court shall decide on the admissibility of interventions under Art. 4, paragraphs 3 and 4, of the same Supplementary Rules, by resolution adopted in chambers;
that, in proceedings for conflicts of attribution between State powers, as a rule, the intervention of subjects other than those entitled to bring or contest the application is not permitted;
that, however, this preclusion does not apply when the intervener is a party to proceedings whose outcomes or effects are liable to be conditioned by the ruling of this Court;
that, otherwise, the interests of the intervener would risk being impaired without him being able to assert his rights;
that, in this case, F. C. is a civil party in the criminal proceedings concluded with the judgment no. 225 of 2024, rendered by the Court of Matera against Saverio De Bonis;
that the Senate of the Republic brought this application also with reference to the aforementioned conviction, requesting its annulment;
that, therefore, the outcome of the conflict is liable to affect the effects of the decision rendered in the criminal proceedings in which F. C. has appeared as a civil party;
that the intervener is, therefore, the holder of a qualified interest, directly and immediately related to the legal relationship at issue, pursuant to Art. 4, paragraph 3, of the Supplementary Rules;
that the intervention document was filed on 29 December 2025, within the time limit of twenty days from the publication in the Official Gazette of order no. 181 of 2025, which occurred on 10 December 2025;
that, therefore, the intervention of F. C. must be declared admissible.
for these reasons
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
declares the intervention filed by F. C. admissible in the proceedings for the conflict of attribution between State powers indicated in the heading.
So decided in Rome, at the seat of the Constitutional Court, Palazzo della Consulta, on 6 July 2026.
Signed:
Giovanni AMOROSO, President
Francesco Saverio MARINI, Reporting Judge
Valeria EMMA, Chancellor
Filed in the Registry on 13 July 2026
The anonymized version conforms, in its text, to the original.