Italy’s jurisdiction, or Trieste’s jurisdiction?
Trieste, December 14th, 2011. Today I questioned Italian authority over the city of Trieste and over the Free Territory of Trieste – FTT before the local Court.
There I exercised my rights. Rights enshrined in the 1947 Italian Peace Treaty. I declared my citizenship of the Free Territory, as I denounced the lack of Italian jurisdiction over Trieste, by virtue of its independence. An independence that Italy fully recognizes.
I was under trial, once again, for an alleged opinion crime. My struggle to defend my land is enough of a crime in the eyes of those who regard this land as a dumping ground for Italian waste and have systematically destroyed its economic and social tissue.
Not exactly an enlightened rule:
Trieste’s international Free Port is paralyzed, downgraded to a fuel hub. This is the domination of a local establishment made of Italian nationalists, fond of deviant freemasoneries and Mafia-like organizations.
They hide behind the “myths” of irredentism to deny the rights of the citizens of the Free Territory of Trieste and, in exchange, they enjoy impunity and huge profits. Impunity, and judicial protection.
Just think of judge Paolo Vascotto (Court of Trieste). With a small, nine-line ordinance denied my request to seek the opinion of the Corte Costituzionale (Italian Constitutional Court).
My 65-pages request recalled and requested compliance with the 1947 Italian Peace Treaty, as well as the Italian legislation that implement and enforce it within the Italian legal order. Starting from the Italian Constitution (arts. 10 and 117). For measure, the Peace Treaty came into force on September 15th, 1947, the Italian Constitution on January 1st, 1948.
Still, one judge, with a nine-lines ordinance, rejects a formal request to address the Italian Constitutional Court (!!), and he does so claiming that “the State’s sovereignty over the Territory of Trieste leaves no room to doubt…” ultimately declaring himself a competent Constitutional judge (!) under the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure.
It is a hammer blow to the rules-based international order. Yet, it doesn’t end here.
Because the ordinance is against the law, and it constitutes an important precedent case that allows to open the question internationally.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, at art. 15, establishes that:
“No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality”.
The 1947 Italian Peace Treaty and the 1948 Italian Constitution that implements it are under trial. And the stakes are even higher: one of the EU’s founding States is neglecting and trampling the rules-based international legal order.
“Question Trieste” is as open as never before.
Translated from blog “Ambiente e Legalità” – “Environment and Legality” by Roberto Giurastante