ROME, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Italy's constitutional court is to decide "before Christmas" whether to accept a new law that gives the current prime minister immunity.
The extraordinary law, passed last June by a parliament dominated by allies of premier Silvio Berlusconi, gives him immunity from prosecution as long as he remains in office.
This blocked a pending corruption trial against the Italian Prime Minister on charges of attempting to bribe judges to block the takeover of a firm by a business rival in the 1980s.
Judges in Milan were forced to drop the corruption case against Berlusconi, but asked the constitutional court to arbitrate. The constitutional court's 15 judges are expected to reach a decision on the law's legality before Christmas, reported the daily Il Giorno.
