Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could face prosecution after the court rejected his immunity claims. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images)
Judicial sources said the Constitutional Court ruled that the law passed last year by the centre-right leader, soon after he returned for a third term in power, violates the principle that all citizens are equal before the law.
The immunity law is also invalid because it was passed by parliament as a normal law rather than a constitutional reform, which is harder to approve and can be rejected by referendum, the source said, regarding the Constitutional Court ruling.
It is the second time that the highest court in the land has thrown out Berlusconi's attempts to have immunity from the cases against him, after an earlier version was rejected in 2004.
The immunity also covered the president and two speakers of parliament but it was 73-year-old Berlusconi, who has faced many corruption and fraud accusations linked to his Mediaset business empire, who had most at stake from losing it.
The state attorney acting for Berlusconi had warned that if the law were overturned, the prime minister would become so entangled he would be unable to do his job as premier properly.
His centre-right allies had even threatened early elections if what they call "concentric attacks" on Berlusconi over his private life and business dealings continue, though the premier vowed earlier this week to serve out his full term until 2013.
Existing legal proceedings against PM Berlusconi
* The highest-profile trial suspended as a result of the law sees Berlusconi charged with paying British lawyer David Mills $600,000 in 1997 from alleged secret funds held by his family-owned Mediaset to withhold incriminating details of his business dealings.
Mills was sentenced in February to four years and six months in prison for corruption. He, like Berlusconi, says he is innocent and is appealing the verdict.
The case could be dropped before the appeals procedure is completed if a final verdict does not come before the charges expire under Italy's "statute of limitations".
* The fate of two other cases depends on the court's ruling.
One involves the acquisition of TV rights by Mediaset, which according to prosecutors bought the rights at an inflated price from two offshore companies controlled by Berlusconi. Berlusconi is accused of tax fraud and false accounting.
The second case concerns allegations that a number of senators were offered bribes to join Berlusconi's coalition in 2007, when the centre left was in power and he was the leader of the opposition.
* Another case creating bad headlines for him is the 750 million euros ($1.09 billion) in damages his Fininvest holding company was ordered this weekend to pay out in a long-running takeover dispute with heavy political overtones.
Fininvest must compensate CIR, owned by Berlusconi's bitter foe Carlo De Benedetti, for bribing a judge in a 1990s takeover battle for publisher Mondadori.
But, although a Milan court's verdict on Saturday said Berlusconi was "jointly responsible", he was cleared in 2001 of criminal charges in the case.
Mills was sentenced in February to four years and six months in prison for corruption. He, like Berlusconi, says he is innocent and is appealing the verdict.
The case could be dropped before the appeals procedure is completed if a final verdict does not come before the charges expire under Italy's "statute of limitations".
* The fate of two other cases depends on the court's ruling.
One involves the acquisition of TV rights by Mediaset, which according to prosecutors bought the rights at an inflated price from two offshore companies controlled by Berlusconi. Berlusconi is accused of tax fraud and false accounting.
The second case concerns allegations that a number of senators were offered bribes to join Berlusconi's coalition in 2007, when the centre left was in power and he was the leader of the opposition.
* Another case creating bad headlines for him is the 750 million euros ($1.09 billion) in damages his Fininvest holding company was ordered this weekend to pay out in a long-running takeover dispute with heavy political overtones.
Fininvest must compensate CIR, owned by Berlusconi's bitter foe Carlo De Benedetti, for bribing a judge in a 1990s takeover battle for publisher Mondadori.
But, although a Milan court's verdict on Saturday said Berlusconi was "jointly responsible", he was cleared in 2001 of criminal charges in the case.
Opposition Celebrates
The opposition celebrated the verdict, with the anti-graft Italy of Values party saying: "Berlusconi would be well advised to pack his bags and get a change of air".But centre-right deputy Jole Santelli said the verdict was unfair and "poses a problem of political and legal uncertainty in our country, and therefore a problem for our democracy".
The "Alfano Law", one of Berlusconi's first acts after winning last year's election, halted all the cases against him, including one where he is accused of bribing British lawyer David Mills to give false testimony to protect his businesses.
Two other cases, one accusing him of tax fraud and false accounting in the purchase of TV rights by his Mediaset group and another alleging he tried to corrupt opposition senators, have also been frozen. Berlusconi denies any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors in those cases appealed to the Constitutional Court.
The ruling comes at a time when the premier's normally high approval ratings have been eroded by a series of sex scandals, including prostitutes attending parties at his home—one of whom went public with some explicit recordings.
The centre-right plans a mass rally in coming weeks to show solidarity with Berlusconi in the face of mounting opposition, which Berlusconi says has been orchestrated by the left-wing press in Italy and by biased Italian magistrates.
