COLOZZA v. ITALY JUGDMENT 7 170, the bailiff has to inform the judge who ordered the notification. The latter, after directing that further searches be conducted at the place of birth or last residence, will then issue a decree (decreto) to the effect that notifications shall be effected by being lodged in the registry of the court before which proceedings are in progress. The defence lawyer must be informed immediately whenever a document is so lodged; if the accused has no lawyer, the court has to assign one to him officially. 20. This system of notification is also used if the accused is "latitante" (Article 173). According to the first paragraph of Article 268, any person wilfully evading execution of, inter alia, an arrest warrant shall be regarded as being "latitante". The third paragraph states that whenever classification as "latitante" entails legal consequences, these are to extend to the other proceedings instituted against the person in question. If he does not have a lawyer of his own choosing, an official appointment will be made. The Court of Cassation has consistently held that an intention to evade arrest is to be presumed where adequate searches by the criminal investigation police have been unsuccessful. This presumption exists even if the person in question, after moving and failing to make the statutory declaration of change of residence, has not resorted to any special subterfuges to avoid arrest (3rd Criminal Chamber, 12 March 1973, no. 559, Repertorio 1974, no. 3440; 6th Criminal Chamber, 20 October 1971, no. 3195, Repertorio 1973, no. 4897; Massimario delle decisioni penali, 1972, no. 1959). In its judgment no. 98 of 2 June 1977, the Constitutional Court specified, however, that the presumption can be rebutted and is thus not irrefutable. The term "adequate searches" leaves the criminal investigation police with a measure of discretion as to the steps to be taken; this discretion is however limited, in that the person concerned must be sought at the residence indicated in the arrest warrant (2nd Criminal Chamber, 19 October 1978, no. 12698, massima no. 140224). B. Trial by default (contumacia) 21. Although trial by "contumacia" (by default; Articles 497 to 501 of the Code of Criminal Procedure) is classified as a special form of proceedings, the ordinary procedure is followed (Article 499, first paragraph). Such a trial is held when the accused, after being duly summoned, does not appear at the hearing and neither requests nor agrees that it take place in his absence. 22. Under Italian law, an accused who fails to appear (contumace) has the same rights as an accused who is present. He is, for example, entitled to be defended by a lawyer - who will be officially assigned to him by the court if he has not chosen one himself - and to lodge an ordinary appeal or