ATTENTATO. — In the broadest meaning of the word, it is any violent act directed against another’s right. When it has as its object a right protected by criminal law, its notion, insofar as it is independent of the achievement of the immediate aim pursued by the agent, coincides with that of attempt (v.); but this does not prevent it from constituting, in certain cases of special political importance, a distinct offence. This category includes the legal forms of a. against the constitution of the State (cf. art. 283 Cod. pen. it.), of a. against the political rights of the citizen (ibid., art. 294), against the head of State (ibid., art. 276), against the heads of foreign States (ibid., art. 295), etc. (cf. the amendments made to some of the articles cited by law of 11 Nov. 1947, no. 1317). The repression of a. against the Supreme Pontiff is provided for by art. 8 of the Lateran Treaty (11 Feb. 1929), which states: «Italy, considering the person of the Supreme Pontiff sacred and inviolable, declares punishable the a. against him and the incitement to commit it with the same penalties established for the a. and the incitement to commit it against the person of the King».
In canon procedural law, the term a. has a particular technical meaning, serving to designate any act performed by one party to the prejudice of the other, or by the judge to the prejudice of one or both of them, contrary to the rule «lite pendente nihil innovetur» (cf. can. 1854 in relation to can. 1725, no. 5 of the CIC). The a. are null by operation of law, and their nullity, at the request of anyone having an interest therein, must be declared by decree of the same judge of the principal case; without prejudice to any action for damages in cases of violence or fraud (cann. 1855–57).