Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi can practically rest assured he will soon enjoy the comforts of legal immunity again. Working with a team of lawyers and parliamentarians – often the same people – he has devised a seemingly failsafe plan to ensure continued legal protection. Part of the plan, which has already been dubbed 'Operazione Scudo', or 'Operation Shield' by some, was approved by parliament on Wednesday.

Italy’s constitutional court three months ago stripped Berlusconi of his legal immunity, finding it in violation of the constitutional guarantee of equality under the law. The Italian prime minister, who is suspected of fraud, tax evasion and graft, seems to have found a new way to cover his back however.

The Italian house of representatives approved a bill which allows ministers, including Berlusconi, to delay trials against them for up to six months, if their busy schedules leave them unable to prepare properly. Ministers charged with a crime can call upon the new law to defer their trials up to three times, meaning it can be a year and a half before the prosecution has its day in court.

Changing the constitution

The new legislation, officially known as the “legal impediment law”, has been nicknamed “the bridge”, since it will probably only be relevant for a limited time span. If the senate approves the law later this month, Berlusconi’s centre-right party 'the People of Freedom', hopes to reintroduce the immunity law that was previously rejected by Italy’s constitutional court. The bill will need to pass through both houses of parliament twice, a required procedure before a constitutional amendment can become law. The government also has an alternative option under consideration: the reintroduction of legal immunity for all members of parliament.

Both Christian democrats and some members of Italy’s largest centre-left opposition party, the Democratic Party, have voiced support for such a move. The Italian parliament was stripped of its legal immunity in the 1990s by a popular referendum after numerous politicians, businessmen and civil servants were implicated in a massive corruption scandal.

To keep the pressure on the opposition, the government has a fourth back-up plan. A bill adopting the statute of limitations for crimes carrying less than a ten year sentence has already passed the senate. If imposed, the limit would mean the statute on the cases against Berlusconi has run out. However, judges have warned tens of thousands of other criminal suspects may walk in the process.

Between a rock and a hard place

The opposition is left with two options: it can either support a constitutional amendment granting all parliamentarians legal immunity, or it will become party to an effective amnesty for droves of white collar criminals and other lawbreakers.

All involved are now eagerly awaiting February 25, when the court of appeals will grant a verdict in the case against David Mills, a British lawyer charged with taking a 600,000 dollar bribe from the Italian prime minister in exchange for false testimony. If the court upholds Mills earlier 4.5-year jail sentence, Berlusconi would find himself morally convicted before his trial even started.

Berlusconi has often said he is the victim of “communists magistrates” looking to break him. An acquittal would give this argument added strength. If Mills walks, reintroducing legal immunity should be a cakewalk for the prime minister.