The Trieste Criminal Court granted the application for stay of proceedings with messa alla prova (a kind of probation) of a young man, charged with the offence of driving under the influence of alcohol provided for and punished by art. 186, para. 2, letter. b) of the Codice della Strada (Italian Highway Code). In the specific case, the defendant was involved in a road accident, after which he was brethalyzed by the officers who intervened at the accident scene and was found to be over the limit. This circumstance prevented the defendant from requesting the conversion of the penalty into community service under Art. 186, para. 9 of the Codice della Strada, which is excluded when a traffic accident occurs. Therefore, an application for stay of proceedings with probation was filed. The latter is an institution that in some respects is similar to the community service provided for by the Codice della Strada, and in fact the positive conclusion of the probation, as well as the positive outcome of community service, result in the extinguishment of the offence. However, contrary to community service, probation requires that the defendant (or the indicted person, when the request is made during the investigation phase) complies with a series of conditions ‒also aimed at compensating the damage caused to the injured parties‒ laid down in a programme drawn by the External Office for Criminal Enforcement.
The decision of the Court of Trieste is significant because it confirms the applicability of the institution of stay of proceedings with probation also to cases of driving under the influence, where community service as provided by the Codice della Strada is denied.
(Trieste Office –Federica Fantuzzi and Andrea Piras – 0039 (0)40 7600281)
