The bill was passed a day earlier by the Senate with 171 to 128 votes in favour of the measure, which the Chamber of Deputies passed on 11 July (Bloomberg).

Reuters describes the signing of the law as “a victory” for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who says “politically motivated prosecutors have been out to get him since he entered politics 14 years ago.”

However, critics say that the law is aimed at protecting Berlusconi. According to Bloomberg, the immunity law would put on hold two current trials: “Berlusconi is charged in Milan with bribing U.K. lawyer David Mills to lie under oath [...] In a separate case, the premier is accused of committing tax fraud when purchasing film rights for Mediaset SpA, his television company. Berlusconi and Mills deny any wrongdoing.”

“The bill's supporters have argued that the amendment is needed to allow the top state officials to focus on doing their jobs - without legal destraction,” writes the BBC.

During his political career Berlusconi has counted “2,500 hearings, 587 visits by the police and 174 million euros (US $272.9 million) in legal fees. He has won all the cases against him, either by acquittal or because time ran out under Italy's statute of limitations” (Reuters).

AP notes that: “Conservative lawmakers tried to introduce an immunity law during Berlusconi's 2001-06 tenure. But in 2004 the country's Constitutional Court overturned it on grounds that it violated constitutional principles.”