That question, which has in the meantime been considered by the European Court of Human Rights (Judgment of 7 June 2011, Agrati and Others v Italy), has not been answered by the Court of Justice. The latter has held that, having regard to the answers given to the other questions referred, there is no longer any need to examine the case from the angle of general principles of law.
La Cour européenne des droits de l'homme ayant répondu entre-temps à cette question (arrêt du 7 juin 2011, Agrati e.a. c. Italie), la Cour juge que, eu égard aux réponses données aux autres questions préjudicielles, il n'est plus besoin d'examiner l'affaire sous l'angle des principes généraux.