An unusual case, originally tried in Potenza, reached Italy's highest court late last month after multiple appeals. You can now be fined in Italy for telling a man "you don't have balls".
Alberto G., an Italian Justice of the Peace in Taranto, uttered this and other heated phrases to his cousin, a Potenza lawyer named Vittorio G., in a tribunal in Potenza. Vittorio sued Alberto for implying, in front of colleagues, that he was "worth less than other men".
Though the vulgarity of the statement alone does not merit a fine—you can still use expressions like "non rompere le palle" (don't break my balls) in court—Italian Supreme Court judge Maurizio Fumo ruled that telling a man "you don't have balls" has an "indubitable injurious quality" because it hurts male pride. Moreover, by implying that the defendant has a weak character and lack of competence, this statement may be damaging to his professional reputation.
A Potenza Tribunal overturned the case's original guilty verdict in January 2011 because the hurtful exchange occurred between family members. According to the Supreme Count, however, the presence of third party observers was a key component of the damage done by Alberto's statement.
A civil judge will now decide the exact amount of the fine Alberto must pay. The full names of the two men have not been released.
