The () is an Italian court composed of two professional,

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

iary judges or ; and six lay judges or , who are selected from the people. The has jurisdiction to try all crimes carrying a maximum penalty of 24 years in prison or more. These are the most serious crimes, such as

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

Slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, killing a consenting human being, and helping a person to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

are also serious crimes that are tried by this court. Penalties imposed by the court can include

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are c ...

s (). The does not preside over cases involving

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...

. The prosecution is conducted by the Public Prosecutor (). Decisions are made by and together at a special meeting held behind closed doors, named Council Chamber (), and the is required to publish written explanations of its decisions.

Composition

The is composed of two professional judges and six lay judges.

Professional judges

The professional judges (magistrates) perform the duties of president and (English: sitting by judge). In the (English: Appellate Courts of Assizes) the judges must be members of the Court of Appeals.

Lay judges

Lay judges for both the and the have to be older than thirty and younger than sixty-five. Lay judges for the must have completed their education to the level of junior high school ('). The lay judges for the must hold a diploma from a senior high school (').

Exclusions

The following people cannot be appointed to the office of lay judge: * judges or other members of the judiciary system; * members of the armed forces or police; * ministers of any religion and clergymen.

Office of lay judge and appointment thereto

In every municipality (''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

''), a board composed by the mayor and two members of the municipal council () form two registers containing all the citizens meeting the aforementioned criteria. If they do not see to that, the president of the local courthouse () acts in their stead. The registers are then transmitted to the president of the courthouse. A board is then convened, formed by the president and all the mayors of the municipalities of the district, to form a register of all the eligible citizens living in that district. The register is then published and all citizen may raise objections within 15 days from publication. The registers are revised every two years. When a crime needs to be tried, the president of the courthouse draws the names of the lay judges and of their substitutes in a public audience. After being appointed, the lay judges take the following oath: Through the oath, they swear they will diligently listen to the reasons of both the prosecution and the defense, will serenely examine the evidence, and will honestly and impartially judge. The lay judges are paid for every day of actual exercise of their duty. In these instances, they are considered

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s. They continue in office for three months, or until the trial in which they are serving ends. Lay judges wear a sash in the national colours and are not technically '' jurors'', as the term is understood in Anglo-Saxon

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

. The Italian word (Judge) refers both to the eight together as a collective body and to each of them considered separately as a member of that body. Since lay judges are not jurors, they cannot be excused, unless there are grounds that would also justify an objection to a judge. So, the office is practically mandatory. Also, they are not sequestered, because a trial often lasts too long to restrict travel. An Italian trial, including the preliminary investigations, preliminary hearing, trial and appeals, can last several years. Keeping a citizen - who continues to work, while serving as a lay judge - sequestered for years would be unfeasible.

Appeals

Corte d'Assise d'Appello

Both the defendant and the prosecutor can appeal a decision from the to the . The has the same composition of judges and lay judges as the , but the ''professional judges'' are senior relative to the judges in the first court. The must also publish written explanations of its decisions. This appeal includes a complete review of the evidence – in effect a retrial.

Cassazione

Both the prosecutor and the defendant can appeal to the top appeal court, named Supreme Court of Cassation ('). The Court of Cassation only judges the correct application of the law in the lower courts and does ''not'' review the evidence. If the Court of Cassation does not uphold the sentence given by the first court, it usually orders a new trial in front of a different court, namely a different from the previous one (in another district).

References

"Legge 10/4/1951 n. 287"
at Comune di Rimini {{DEFAULTSORT:Corte D'assise Government of Italy Judiciary of Italy Courts and tribunals with year of establishment missing it:Corte d'Assise