Camignolo: Political Criticism of Judicial Decisions

Camignolo: political criticism of judicial decisions On 30 October 2026 the Ticino Public Prosecutor's Office issued two penalty orders over the detention of a protester in Camignolo on 13 October 2025, during an evening event attended by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis. Within hours the political parties had taken positions. This analysis does not assess the facts. The orders are not final, the officers may file an objection, and they are fully presumed innocent. Instead, it examines how politics in Ticino and in Italy reacts to judicial decisions that concern the police. From the standards of the Consultative Council of European Judges, the analysis derives six criteria for distinguishing legitimate criticism from undue pressure on the judiciary. They are the target, the timing, the channel, the accuracy of the facts, the legislative follow-up and the position of the speaker. It applies them with the same yardstick to the reactions of the Ticino parties, the Cantonal Government and the Italian Government in the Crans-Montana and Siher cases. It then shows that the same police intervention may fall under different legal regimes. In an ordinary setting, cantonal law applies. When officers protect persons on behalf of the Confederation, federal law comes into play, and its rules on the use of coercion remain a grey area for cantonal police forces. The yardstick for the protests of 20 November in Bellinzona will therefore not be the same as for the OSCE Ministerial Council in Lugano on 3 and 4 December. The analysis concludes that the constructive path runs through rules, both cantonal and federal, not through verdicts delivered before the trial. The parties, to which the Federal Constitution entrusts the task of shaping public opinion, bear a particular responsibility in this. The text is a preview of the study "Impartiality and the Police under Investigation" (in Italian), which Ticinus will publish after the OSCE meeting.

ITEN