The European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday closed Silvio Berlusconi's appeal
against his office ban and ejection from the Senate without
issuing a sentence, as the three-time ex-premier had asked.
The verdict was moot since the centre-right Forza Italia (FI)
leader's office ban ran out in April.
It will thus not be known whether, according to EU law, Italy
was right to apply the Severino Law as a result of a tax evasion
conviction.
The court therefore did not say whether Berlusconi's rights
had been violated or not.
Berlusconi's lawyers said that the ECHR ruling had not been
needed since Berlusconi's ban ran out in April, but that the
court would have been favourable to the media magnate turned
politician.
"There was no more interest in obtaining a decision that we
believe would have been favourable," they said.
They also said a possible verdict against Italy would have
brought "further tensions in the already complicated life of the
country, a circumstance which (ex) premier Berlusconi wanted to
absolutely avoid".
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