There is a dimension of disasters that only sometimes emerges in public discourse: that of responsibility, decision-making, and the chain of actions that unfolds before, during, and after an event. It is within this complex domain that WikiProcessi operates – the platform of the Italian Civil Protection Department, developed and managed by the CIMA Research Foundation – which has recently released its new annual report. This work combines legal analysis, systematized data, and a technical-scientific interpretation of events, conveyed through clear and accessible language.
Originally conceived as an observatory on legal proceedings and rulings concerning civil protection operators, the platform now collects approximately 190 criminal proceedings. These are organized into structured case files that integrate procedural documents, court rulings, expert reports, journalistic and doctrinal contributions, as well as analyses of the physical processes underlying natural hazards. More than a repository, WikiProcessi functions as a research tool, enabling the identification of trends and supporting a deeper understanding of the civil protection system.
“WikiProcessi represents a unique knowledge infrastructure: it allows us to interpret disasters not only as physical events, but as complex processes in which responsibility, tools, and decisions are deeply intertwined,” explains Marco Altamura, Programme Director at CIMA Research Foundation.
Data, trends and responsibility: insights from WikiProcessi
The 2025 report highlights several key findings. Among the subjects most frequently involved in legal proceedings are institutional and technical actors, with a significant presence of mayors, who act as the primary civil protection authorities at the local level.
The analysis of charges reveals recurring offences such as negligent disaster, manslaughter, omission of official acts, and falsification, outlining a framework in which both risk management and emergency management play a central role.
However, it is the outcomes of proceedings that provide a particularly relevant interpretative key: despite the high number of cases, convictions account for less than 7%.
“This figure should not be interpreted as a reduction in responsibility, but rather as an indicator of the system’s complexity: establishing criminal liability requires precise conditions, linked to the identification of concrete legal duties to act,” notes Francesca Munerol, researcher at CIMA Research Foundation.
The domains most frequently addressed in legal proceedings show that responsibility extends across the entire risk cycle – from prevention to response – with increasing attention in recent years to planning processes.
Case studies and emerging scenarios: from case law to climate change
The report further explores selected case studies from 2025, which are particularly representative of the evolving legal landscape in this field.
These cases demonstrate how responsibility in civil protection is constructed along a chain of interdependent decisions, tools, and actions. Events such as the Rigopiano avalanche or the landslide near Cortina d’Ampezzo highlight how the effectiveness of the system depends on the availability of appropriate tools, the clarity of roles, and, above all, the capacity for coordination across institutional levels.
At the same time, more recent proceedings, such as those related to the 2023 floods in Tuscany, show an evolution in investigative and judicial approaches, increasingly oriented toward the integration of technical and scientific expertise in the reconstruction of events.
Finally, the report broadens its scope by including the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on States’ obligations concerning climate change. This marks a significant shift: responsibility is no longer limited to emergency management, but also encompasses the capacity to prevent and adapt to climate impacts through appropriate policies and tools.
“What emerges is a shift in perspective: responsibility is increasingly linked to the ability to anticipate risk and to integrate climate considerations into decision-making processes,” observes Margherita Andreaggi, researcher at CIMA Research Foundation.
The WikiProcessi 2025 report thus provides a comprehensive and evolving framework in which law, science, and risk governance intersect. A contribution that not only analyses the past, but also supports the development of awareness tools for the future of the civil protection system.