Berlusconi OKs Bill to Sue Judges

Silvio Berlusconi has signed off on a measure that would allow defendants to sue judges and prosecutors for their mistakes, a move critics are calling an act of revenge on a legal system the prime minister has long tangled with, the Guardian reports. Italy's national magistrates’ association released a statement decrying the bill, calling it “a punitive reform whose overall intention is to undermine the autonomy and independence of the judiciary.”

The bill, which still has a long way to go to become law, would hold judges and prosecutors “directly responsible for acts committed in violation of rights.” Right now, defendants can sue the state, but not the judges directly. The move comes a day before Berlusconi is due in court on charges that he bought favorable testimony. The prime minister has often accused prosecutors of pursuing politically motivated cases against him. (More Silvio Berlusconi stories.)