Italy's lower house of Parliament voted Wednesday to pass a law that is to allow the suspension of trials against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and ministers in his government for a maximum of 18 months.

In order to become law, the chamber bill needs to be adopted in full by the upper house Senate which is to examine it soon.

The law, which was the object of a heated political debate, would grant the head of government and his ministers the suspension of trials conducted against them for a maximum of 18 months for "legitimate impediment".

Berlusconi is currently on trial in two cases.

“Legitimate impediment”
Until now, "legitimate impediment" was accorded by judges on a case by case basis as a reason not to attend hearings: judges consider Berlusconi's absence legitimate when he presides a government meeting, but not when he inaugurates a new highway.

Opposition leaders claim the bill is especially designed to protect Berlusconi from prosecution.

Politics and the judiciary
"There is a prime minister who does not want to be judged and blocks Italy in a foolish war between politics and the judiciary," said Pierlugi Bersani, head of the opposition Democratic Party, while Andrea Orlando, another Democratic Party lawmaker, said the approval of the text represented "another shameful page for our institutions", ANSA news agency reported.

"In 18 months Berlusconi will again be called in front of a court, should parliament not adopt another little law for him," said Massimo D'Alema, a former prime minister.

Weeks after Berlusconi was elected for a third term in April 2008, parliament adopted a law that froze all trials held against the prime minister, the president and the presidents of both houses of parliament.

That law was invalidated by the Constitutional Court in October.

Source: AFP