Berlusconi confident ahead of immunity ruling

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was characteristically confident today ahead of a ruling on his immunity that could lead to the resumption of his prosecution for fraud and bribery.

Italy's top Constitutional Court is expected to decide later today whether last year's temporary immunity law -- which has allowed Berlusconi to avoid criminal prosecution while in office -- is in line with the country's constitution.

Under the current system, Berlusconi and the ministers in his government cannot be called upon in any judicial proceedings because they are fulfilling their official duties -- an arrangement that has angered the opposition.

"It really does not matter to me whether these trials are stopped or not," Berlusconi told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"I find the case laughable," he said, adding he had already "sworn on the lives of (his) children and grandchildren" that he was innocent.

According to Italian media, Italy's top court is likely to find a compromise that would give Berlusconi and his ministers partial immunity.

Some analysts have suggested that Berlusconi might be excused from appearing in court only when he is involved in high-level meetings. Others believe judges will be told to decide on a case-by-case basis whether he should appear or not.

Newspapers in Italy have said the court's 15 judges are divided, with eight favouring an annulment of the law and seven in favour of it.

Berlusconi's battles with the law have marked his public life since he burst onto the political scene in the mid-1990s.

He has faced charges including corruption, tax fraud, false accounting and illegally financing political parties.

Although some initial judgments have gone against the tycoon, he has never been definitively convicted.

If the Constitutional Court scraps the law entirely, two trials against Berlusconi that have been effectively frozen by the legislation would re-start.

The first is for alleged tax fraud by Berlusconi's Mediaset business empire and the second is for suspected bribery of a witness in another trial.

Should Italy's top court overturn the law, it could further weaken Berlusconi less than a month after the prime minister scraped through a crucial no-confidence vote which left his government clinging to power.