Italy’s prime minister. Slippery Silvio

The courts let Silvio Berlusconi off, but convict one of his closest associates

THERE is no point debating if the prime minister of Italy might have bribed judges. But the party he leads was created by a friend who was in league with the Sicilian Mafia. That, in its shocking essence, is what two Italian courts decided last weekend. They were giving two separate judgments, one on Silvio Berlusconi and the other on Marcello Dell'Utri, once head of Publitalia, the cash generator in Mr Berlusconi's media empire, and the man who conjured up his party, Forza Italia, in 1994.

The verdict on Mr Berlusconi lifted the only big legal threat still hanging over him. He was charged with offences allegedly committed before he entered politics. One was the alleged bribing of judges to secure favourable decisions in cases over a disputed state asset sale in 1985. Three judges in Milan acquitted Mr Berlusconi of this because there was insufficient proof. But another charge was more perilous from Mr Berlusconi's standpoint.

The court heard that, in 1991, his lawyer and close friend, Cesare Previti, received $434,404 from Fininvest, the company at the apex of Mr Berlusconi's business empire; and that Mr Previti then sent the same amount to a Rome judge via Swiss bank accounts. Another Milan court decided last year that this payment was a bribe, and sentenced Mr Previti to five years and the judge to eight. The prosecutors argued that Mr Berlusconi must have known about the payment.

The Milan judges decided that, even if Mr Berlusconi had committed this offence, the statute of limitations should apply. Normally, such a statute, which extinguishes the crime, kicks in after 15 years. But in Italy's legal system, judges have discretion to reduce the period if they find mitigating circumstances; and in the prime minister's case, they found them. This meant the mandatory application of a statute of limitations after ten years. As the bribe was paid in 1991, Mr Berlusconi was off the hook.

Just what mitigating circumstances the judges found will not be known until they file the reasoning behind their verdict. This is the second time that Mr Berlusconi has benefited from a statute of limitations in a judge-bribing case. He avoided indictment in 2001 because the judges in another judge-bribing case also found extenuating factors. One of these was that Mr Berlusconi was then leader of the opposition. Last year, Mr Previti was convicted in this case and sentenced to 11 years in jail.

But help is at hand for Mr Previti. A new bill will make the statute of limitations apply more quickly to a range of crimes, including judge-bribing. Mr Previti, who has appealed against his convictions, looks set to be a big beneficiary.

Mr Berlusconi and his supporters were predictably jubilant when the verdict came on December 10th. But their celebrations were short-lived, for the next day a court in Palermo brought in a verdict on Mr Dell'Utri that sent them reeling. He was found guilty of aiding and abetting the Mafia, given nine years in jail and banned from holding public office. Mr Dell'Utri is sure to appeal against his conviction. But if he is found guilty in the second of two levels of appeal, and if a statute of limitations does not apply, he will be jailed.

The thrust of the prosecution's case was that Mr Dell'Utri was the Mafia's “liaison officer” with Milan's business world. The implications are hair-raising. Apart from a spell in the late 1970s, Mr Dell'Utri has been at Mr Berlusconi's side since 1974. He is one of his closest friends; Mr Berlusconi even telephoned him to express support after the verdict. Mr Dell'Utri will have had ample opportunity to influence Mr Berlusconi's business strategy and political approach.

Feature looks at the decisions by the Italian courts in cases brought against Silvio Berlusconi and Marcello Dell'Utri, December 2004.