La Cosenza Police Headquarters and the Ministry of the Interior have been unsuccessful in an administrative dispute, before TAR of Calabria and subsequently to the Council of State, against AC, which had challenged the decree rejecting the application for renewal of the hunting rifle port issued by Commissioner of Cosenza, which had motivated it with the attendance, by the same CA, of a contraindicated subject as "Burdened with police prejudice".
In this case it was a citizen, previously the subject of complaint for brawl and yet in possession of a regular port of rifle for hunting use, which evidently the same police authority had not considered it necessary to revoke or suspend it, not even during the investigations and investigations of the case. AC, in possession of a hunting license since the early 90s, a retired police officer and president of a hunting club, has therefore decided to challenge the refusal decree at the TAR of Calabria, for excess of power due to lack of conditions, illogicality of the motivation and lack of investigation.
As a precautionary measure, the TAR decided to quickly fix the hearing on the merits, where the Ministry of the Interior also appeared in court. The TAR finally ruled, on 6 October 2021, with a sentence of annulment of the decree of the Quaestor and condemning the Ministry to pay the litigation costs to the applicant.
Basically, the Regional Administrative Court held that “the discretionary appreciation contained in the decision of the Chief of Police is not exempt from the alleged vice of excess of power. Indeed, during the comparative weighing of the opposing interests, the public administration failed to adequately assess a series of concomitant elements, namely that: the applicant is a retired State Police officer, who has held the service weapon without receiving relief during his thirty-five-year career; in his capacity as President of an association of hunters, the exponent demanded that each member be equipped with a hunting weapon license - issued to the contraindicated on (omitted) by the Cosenza Police Headquarters - which postulates a reliability prognosis based on the judgment made by the competent administration; attendance with (omitted) is limited to the episode of 1.09.2019 only, therefore occasional and justified by the start on that day of the hunting activity, by belonging to the same club, as well as by the circumstance that this subject is in turn the owner license of port of rifle for hunting use. "
The sentence was then challenged on appeal to Council of State by the Ministry of the Interior, where however the decision of the TAR was confirmed with the rejection of the ministerial appeal e the further condemnation of the administration to reimburse the applicant's costs. For details, see TAR Calabria, First Section, sentence no. 01888 of 6.10.2021.