Mitterrand doctrine

The Mitterrand doctrine ("Doctrine Mitterrand") was a policy established in 1985 by French president François Mitterrand concerning Italian far-left terrorists who fled to France: those convicted for violent acts in Italy, but excluding "active, actual, bloody terrorism" during the "Years of Lead", would not be extradited to Italy. Mitterrand based this oral promise, which was upheld until the 2000s by France, on the alleged non-conformity of Italian legislation with European standards.

The French president opposed aspects of the anti-terrorist laws passed in Italy during the 1970s and 1980s, which created the status of "collaboratore di giustizia" ("collaborators with justice", known commonly, as pentito.) This was similar to the "crown witness" legislation in the UK or the Witness Protection Program in the United States, in which people charged with crimes are allowed to become witnesses for the state and possibly to receive reduced sentences and protection.

Italian legislation also provided that, if a defendant was able to conduct his defence via his lawyers, trials held in absentia did not need to be repeated if he were eventually apprehended. The Italian in absentia procedure was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

The Mitterrand doctrine was effectively repealed in 2002, under the government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin, when Paolo Persichetti was extradited from France.

Mitterrand defined his doctrine during a speech at the Palais des sports in Rennes on February 1, 1985. Mitterrand excluded still active terrorist from this protection. On 21 April 1985, at the 65th Congress of the Human Rights League (LDH), he declared that Italian criminals who had broken with their violent past and had fled to France would be protected from extradition to Italy:

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