We wish to draw our readers’ attention to Judgment No. 120/2026, in which the Constitutional Court held that the penalties prescribed for the offence of death or bodily injury resulting from crimes relating to irregular immigration (Article 12-bis of Legislative Decree No. 286/1998), introduced in 2023 by the so-called Cutro Decree (Decree-Law No. 20 of 10 March 2023, converted with amendments into Law No. 50 of 5 May 2023), are not constitutionally unlawful.

The constitutional questions were referred by the Judge for the Preliminary Hearing (GUP) of the Court of Syracuse (Referral Order No. 10 of 2026), with reference to Articles 3, 27(3), 11, and 117(1) of the Italian Constitution, the latter two in conjunction with Article 49(3) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

More specifically, the referring court challenged: paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 12-bis of Legislative Decree No. 286/1998 on the ground that the statutory penalties were disproportionate; paragraph 4, which prohibits the balancing of aggravating and mitigating circumstances; and, finally, the legislature’s failure to provide for a mitigating circumstance applicable to cases of minor gravity, capable of being balanced against aggravating circumstances based on equivalence or predominance.

The Constitutional Court declared the questions concerning paragraph 4 inadmissible and dismissed as unfounded those concerning paragraphs 1 and 3.