Legal Complaint Filed Against Presence of Nuclear Weapons in Italy

By World BEYOND War, October 6, 2023

Information provided by Franco Dinelli

A formal complaint was submitted on October 2nd to the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Rome, Italy, asking the investigating magistrates to investigate the presence of nuclear weapons on the national territory of Italy and to pursue those criminally responsible for their importation and possession.

The complaint states that the presence of nuclear weapons on Italian soil is certain, even though it has never been officially admitted to by the Italian government. The sources of this information are numerous, and range from newspaper reports to scientific journal articles to the effective admission by the U.S. government that, as everyone knows, it keeps nuclear weapons in Italy, Turkey, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and the UK — a fact used as an excuse by the Russian government in proposing to keep nuclear weapons in Belarus. There may be approximately 90 nuclear weapons at the Ghedi and Aviano bases.

The complaint recalls that Italy ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty on April 24, 1975, and details why this makes the presence of nuclear weapons in Italy illegal. The complaint also finds the presence of nuclear weapons in Italy to violate various Italian laws related to weapons, and to suggest violations of the law related to import licenses. By law, the export, import, transit, intra-Community transfer and brokering of armament material as well as the transfer of the relevant production licenses and the relocation of production must be in conformity with Italy’s foreign and defense policy. But Italy’s Constitution says that “Italy rejects war as an instrument of aggression against the freedom of other peoples and as a means for the settlement of international disputes. Italy agrees, on conditions of equality with other States, to the limitations of sovereignty that may be necessary to a world order ensuring peace and justice among the Nations. Italy promotes and encourages international organisations furthering such ends.”

However, the very same Constitution also says, “Parliament has the authority to declare a state of war and vest the necessary powers into the Government. . . . The President is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, shall preside over the Supreme Council of Defence established by law, and shall make declarations of war as have been agreed by Parliament. . . . Military tribunals in times of war have the jurisdiction established by law. In times of peace they have jurisdiction only for military crimes committed by members of the armed forces.”