Italian Court of Cassation, Second Criminal Division, judgment no. 37765, filed on 28 October 2026.
When the time allowed to the trial judge to file the reasons for a judgment expires on a public holiday, the extension to the next working day also affects the starting date of the period for lodging an appeal.
The Court of Cassation reiterated this principle in judgment no. 37765/2026, quashing without remittal an order by which the Court of Appeal had declared a defence appeal inadmissible as out of time.
In the case at hand, the 90-day period allowed for filing the reasons expired on Sunday, 8 February 2026. Under Article 172(3) of the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure, that deadline was extended to Monday, 9 February. The ensuing 45-day appeal period under Article 585 therefore began on 10 February and expired on 26 March, the date on which the defence had in fact filed its appeal electronically.
Referring to the principle laid down by the Joint Criminal Divisions in judgment no. 155/2012, Rossi, the Court held that extending the deadline for filing the reasons correspondingly postpones the start of the appeal period. The appeal was therefore timely.
The decision highlights the importance of distinguishing the expiry of the deadline for filing the reasons of a judgment from the start of the appeal period: an incorrect calculation must not prevent access to second-instance review.
Source: Judgment no. 37765/2026, case summary and statutory references (Italian).
