ROME -- Italy's Constitutional Court struck down a law protecting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and other top officials from criminal prosecution, in a politically explosive ruling that paves the way for the reopening of two suspended trials against Italy's billionaire leader. The decision, which can't be appealed and allows prosecutors to restart pending criminal trials against the premier right away, could further undermine a government already rattled by Air Jordan 11embarrassing disclosures over Mr. Berlusconi's personal life. It poses the prospect that Mr. Berlusconi will be distracted with legal hearings as Italy struggles with its deepest recession since World War II. Some in the center-left opposition called for Mr. Berlusconi's resignation on Wednesday night. Italy's late-night television talk shows rushed to change their programming to discuss the ruling. Mr. Berlusconi quickly made clear he had no intention of stepping down. "We're moving on," Mr. Berlusconi told TV cameras as he walked, smiling, into an art exhibit after the ruling was issued. Passersby greeted him with applause. "The trials they will hurl at me in Milan are real farces," Mr. Berlusconi said, adding: "I feel reinvigorated...Long live Italy! Long live Berlusconi!" Mr. Berlusconi has denied all criminal charges against him,Air Jordan 10 saying they were the result of a left-wing plot -- assertions many Italians believe. Wednesday night, he also said the court's decision was politically motivated. Yet Milan prosecutors who had originally appealed to the Constitutional Court to lift the immunity law and allow their trials to restart are now likely to move quickly. Piero Longo, a lawyer representing Mr. Berlusconi, said in an interview there was "absolutely nothing" Mr. Berlusconi or his lawyers could do to stop the trials from moving forward. Having Mr. Berlusconi's legal woes displayed once again in the public arena would again highlight the conflict-of-interest concerns that have dogged the political career of a man who is also Italy's most powerful media entrepreneur. Since he entered politics, Mr. Berlusconi, 73 years old, has tried to distance himself from his media empire, handing management of Italy's dominant private broadcaster Mediaset SpA over to a close lieutenant and his son Piersilvio. His daughter Marina heads Fininvest, the family's holding company, which includes Mediaset. Still, opposition politicians regularly attack Mr. Berlusconi for his influence over information in Italy. Mr. Berlusconi has considerable sway over state-owned broadcaster RAI, as the broadcaster's board members are appointed by the Italian Treasury and the Parliament, where the premier's conservative coalition Air Jordan 9enjoys a comfortable majority. Mr. Berlusconi denies that he has undue clout over information in Italy, arguing that most of the print media is left-leaning and biased against him. The premier's private life has been in the spotlight since April, when his wife accused him of "consorting with minors." Since then, a prostitute has gone public with claims she spent the night with Mr. Berlusconi. Mr. Berlusconi has denied having a "spicy" relationship with an 18-year-old aspiring model, and also denied he has ever paid for sex. Mr. Berlusconi has lashed out at foreign media -- including News Corp., owner of The Wall Street Journal, for focusing on his personal woes. News Corp. also owns satellite-TV broadcaster Sky Italia, which competes with Mediaset. The Constitutional Court ruled that the immunity bill -- which was passed by Parliament in July 2008 -- unfairly placed Mr. Berlusconi above the law, according to a six-line statement issued by the court late on Wednesday. The court also ruled that Italy's Parliament overstepped its powers in passing the law because a constitutional amendment should have been sought. The legal proceedings that had been brought against Mr. Berlusconi -- and later suspended under the immunity law -- include two criminal trials: One for alleged false accounting and Air Jordan 8tax fraud stemming from the premier's role as owner of Mediaset, and a second trial for corruption, according to Gaetano Pecorella, Mr. Berlusconi's lawyer. Mr. Pecorella, who had delivered arguments before the court on Tuesday, said the premier denies all of the charges. It is unclear whether the Constitutional Court ruling will have any impact on Mr. Berlusconi's media empire -- especially as the resumption of any trial wouldn't be likely to reach a definitive verdict for several years. A spokeswoman for Mediaset declined to comment on the Constitutional Court's ruling. Over the past 15 years, Mr. Berlusconi has faced criminal investigations, indictments and trials on charges ranging from false accounting to corruption. He has repeatedly denied all the charges. In some of the cases, Mr. Berlusconi was acquitted at trial. In some others, the statute of limitations on the alleged crimes expired, and he either wasn't charged, or the charges were dropped. In 2003, Mr. Berlusconi first attempted to erect a legal shield for top officials including the sitting prime minister, the president and the heads of the lower and upper housesAir Jordan 7 of Parliament, during their term in office. The law was swiftly struck down by the Constitutional Court, which argued that the law unfairly placed officials above the law. The new immunity law was introduced in the spring of 2008, but prosecutors quickly filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court. One of the suspended cases involving fraud and false accounting charges relates to arrangements by Mr. Berlusconi to buy film rights in the 1990s on behalf of Mediaset. Prosecutors allege that Mediaset falsely declared the cost of purchasing the film rights to lower its tax payment. Mr. Berlusconi denies the charges related to that case.

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