Italian Supreme Court, Criminal Division V, judgment no. 34300/2026, hearing 9 September 2026, filed 23 September 2026

The Italian Supreme Court has returned to the relationship between the habitual nature of stalking and the succession over time of stricter criminal provisions. Because the offence under Article 612-bis of the Criminal Code is committed through a plurality of acts, it is completed when the last act in the stalking course of conduct is carried out.

Accordingly, the amendments introduced by Law no. 69 of 19 July 2019 may also apply to a course of stalking that began before those amendments entered into force, where the habitual conduct continued afterwards.

Defence relevance. The timing of each individual episode becomes decisive in identifying the applicable law. The defence must therefore verify not only whether a habitual course of conduct exists, but also which acts are actually proven and whether they occurred after the stricter law entered into force.

Sources

ARSG – Italian Supreme Court, Criminal Division V, no. 34300/2026; Njus – analysis of the judgment.