Italian Justice Under Trial: Insights from Knox v Italy - Federico II

Violations of substantial and procedural rights recognised by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and fundamental freedom are sanctioned by the European Court of Human Rights. In particular, this has happened in the Knox case where Italy has been condemned for the violation of the Artt. 3 and 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights which guarantee the prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment, the right to legal assistance and the right to the assistance of an interpreter. As a rule, where the Court recognises violations of substantial rights, it asks the defaulting State to repeat the process. If this is not possible, the Court applies the art. 41 “Just satisfaction”. The difficulty exists in determining situations in which the State is unable to remove the negative consequences of the decision deemed unfair by the Court. In this respect, it can be stated that in very rare cases it is possible to remove the consequences of the infringement or, in any case, a recognition on the actual possibility of removing them, therefore the effects of the Court judgment are generally reduced to a mere economic compensation. There are many profiles on which the speakers will be confronted in order to offer a consideration on the effectiveness of the protection of fundamental rights.