The malicious damaging has been radically transformed by the Legislative Decree no. 7/2016 (see short comment): a crime will be committed only if the conduct of destroying, dispersing, deteriorating or making, in whole or in part, unusable goods or properties of others is acted with personal violence or with threat or in occasions of public events or of a crime punished under Article. 331 c.p. (interruption of a public service or a service of public necessity).

This condition is not provided with respect to the categories listed in the second paragraph of the new Article. 635 c.p., precisely:

1. buildings intended for public use or the for the profession of a religion cult or buildings having an historical or artistic interest, wherever they are located, buildings within the perimeter of the historical towncenters, buildings whose works of construction, restructuring, recovery or remediation are underway or completed, or any other things mentioned in number 7) of Article 625 (i.e. existing things in offices or public establishments, goods subject to seizure or displayed by necessity or habit to target the public faith, or intended for public or public service utilities, defense or reverence);

2. works for irrigation;

3. planted vines, fruit trees or shrubs, or forests, jungles or forests or forest nurseries for reforestation;

4. equipment and sports facilities in order to prevent or stop the holding of sporting events.

For the new crime of malicious damaging, the probation is admitted only after the elimination of the detrimental or dangerous consequences of the offense, or, if the offender doesn’t rise any objection, after the provision of unpaid work for the community for a specified time not exceeding, however, the duration of the suspended sanction, as specified by the judge in the sentence.

With reference to art. 635 bis (damage to information, data and computer programs), 635 ter (damage to information, data and programs used by the State or other public body or for public utility), 635 quater (Damage to informatic or telecommunications systems), 635 quinquies (Damage to informatic or telecommunications systems of public utility), the Ruler replaced the previous aggravating circumstances with the following: if the act is committed with violence or threat or by abusing of the role of system operator, the sanction is increased. 

On the other hand, the corresponding civil wrong as defined by the Legislative Decree consists in the conduct of those who destroys, disperses, deteriorates or makes, in whole or in part, unusable goods or properties of others, outside of the cases referred to in Art. 635 et seq. of the code of criminal Law and it will be punished with a penalty from a minimum of € 100.00 to a maximum € 8,000.00 (Art. 4 Legislative Decree no. 7/2016).

Como, 15 February 2016