Recent scandals in Italy bring to the forefront the difference between the American Constitution and those of other countries. Amar says that the "basic structure [of the Constitution...affords] a sitting president temporary immunity from ordinary criminal prosecution during his term of office." The New York Times reports, however, that the Constitutional Court of Italy ruled unconstitutional an Italian law "granting the nation’s four highest office holders immunity from prosecution while in office." The court declared that the law "[violated] the clause in the [Italian] constitution granting citizens equality under the law."
The law in question has been in contention since Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi passed it through Parliment in 2008. The New York Times reports that "lawyers for Mr. Berlusconi argued that the prime minister could not govern if he was constantly fighting his own legal battles," a nod to the fact that the Prime Minister is the defendant in several corruption trials. Amar's statement that an American president receives immunity because he is "expected to preside continuously" complements this argument. Unlike in Italy, however, the American president is "vested with the powers of an entire branch" (emphasis mine). Italy has both a President of the Council of Ministers (i.e. the Prime Minister) and a President of the Republic.
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