Court partly upholds Chamber challenge in Almasri case over Bartolozzi

The ruling

The Constitutional Court partly upheld a conflict of powers raised by the Chamber of Deputies against the Rome Tribunal of Ministers and the Rome prosecutor's office, in judgment no. 190, deposited on 6 November 2026. The court held that the tribunal should have explained why it did not consider Giusi Bartolozzi a possible accomplice in the offences attributed to Justice Minister Carlo Nordio. It also held that the prosecutors should have passed the tribunal's assessment on to the Chamber. The court rejected the Chamber's claim on a second point, the failure to seek parliamentary permission to prosecute Bartolozzi for false statements. The dispute therefore ends with a split result, with each side winning part of its argument.

The false statements charge

Rome prosecutors had asked the tribunal either to classify Bartolozzi's conduct as complicity in the offences charged to Nordio or to allege false statements she made during the investigation. The court found that the false statements offence is connected to the minister's case but is not a joint offence with it. Under Article 96 of the Constitution, which covers ministerial offences, parliamentary authorization does not extend automatically to crimes committed by third parties, so none was needed for this charge. The statements in question were made to the tribunal during a hearing on 31 March 2025. The prosecutors may therefore proceed on that charge, but they must inform the Chamber of their assessment.

Background of the Almasri case

Osama Almasri, a Libyan general, was arrested in Turin and then released and flown back to Tripoli on an aircraft of Italian intelligence services, in events between 19 and 21 January 2025. The Tribunal of Ministers investigated Nordio, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano. The case against Meloni was archived, while the Chamber refused permission to prosecute the two ministers and the undersecretary, so they avoided trial. The Chamber argued that Bartolozzi should have been investigated jointly with members of the government, which would have given her the same parliamentary protection. The court's ruling leaves open the question of her responsibility for the trial.

Trial stage and what comes next

Bartolozzi is a defendant in Rome over the false statements, and the case is at the preliminary hearing stage. The ruling does not end the proceedings against her. Vittorio Manes, the lawyer representing the Chamber, stressed at a court discussion in October 2026 that Bartolozzi played a leading role and took part personally in all the evaluation and decision-making phases of the case. Bartolozzi now works as legal adviser to Tommaso Foti, minister for EU affairs. One report describes her as former deputy chief of staff at the justice ministry, while others call her chief of staff, and the court's reasoning does not settle that title.