The Quirinale has judicial powers for the military removed from the security decree

The public order decree approved by the government following the weekend clashes in Milan does not come in the form initially envisaged. The Quirinale had the measure that would have granted the soldiers deployed in the Strade sicure operation judicial police functions, including the power to carry out arrests, struck from the text. This is the detail that today’s developments add to yesterday’s announcement, scaling down the scope of a measure presented as a firm response to the unrest.

The decree’s other measures remain in force, however. A new offence of organised violence at public demonstrations is introduced, designed to target those who take part in a coordinated manner in episodes of destruction during marches. Preventive detention is also extended to minors, a choice that fits the context of the Milan clashes: during those days, 35 minors were arrested, a figure that alone measures the extent of young people’s involvement in the violent episodes.

On the ground, in terms of public order, the Interior Minister confirmed the deployment of an additional 500 soldiers to Milan, following the clashes and vandalism recorded over the weekend. This measure remains separate from the rule on judicial powers, which concerned instead the prerogatives of soldiers already present in the area, not their numbers.

The Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, spoke directly on the new offence, summarising the regulatory change as follows:

“The offence of violent participation is created” — Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini struck a sharper tone, asserting the measure’s hardline approach by addressing those who took part in the unrest directly:

“Whoever returns to loot will not go unpunished” — Matteo Salvini, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport

The Quirinale’s rejection of the rule on judicial powers for the military represents the most significant point of friction to have emerged so far around the decree: the government had envisaged a reinforced operational role for the Armed Forces in public order functions, while the Quirinale held that such a function should remain distinct from that of the ordinary judicial police forces. The decree therefore emerges from the Council of Ministers with a narrower scope than initially discussed, while the number of minors detained in Milan — 35 — remains the figure that concretely measures the scale of the clashes the measure is intended to address.