Reclassification of the offence and access to alternative proceedings: preliminary reference to the EU Court of Justice

By order no. 27371 of 21 July 2026 the Sixth Criminal Section of the Court of Cassation stayed the proceedings and referred a preliminary question to the Court of Justice of the European Union on the legal reclassification of the offence. The issue arises where the defendant, following the different classification adopted by the court, is barred from the alternative proceedings — and their sentencing benefits — that could have been sought on the basis of the original charge.

For business criminal defence the question is far from academic: plea bargaining and the abbreviated trial decisively shape procedural strategy and the exposure of the entity and its senior management. Should the Court of Justice recognise a right to reconsider the choice of procedure after reclassification, a new avenue of defence will open in economic proceedings, where the classification of the facts often remains fluid and contested until the final instance.

Summary note by Studio Legale Petrali, based on specialised legal sources (Giurisprudenza Penale Web, ISSN 2499-846X). This text does not reproduce the original contribution and does not constitute legal advice.