FACTBOX-Italy's top court throws out Berlusconi immunity

Oct 7 (Reuters) - Italy's top court threw out a law granting immunity from prosecution to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in a verdict that could reopen criminal trials against him.

Following are details on the existing legal proceedings against the conservative prime minister.

* The highest-profile trial suspended as a result of the law sees Berlusconi charged with paying British lawyer David Mills $600,000 in 1997 from alleged secret funds held by his family-owned Mediaset (MS.MI) to withhold incriminating details of his business dealings.

Mills was sentenced in February to four years and six months in prison for corruption. He, like Berlusconi, says he is innocent and is appealing the verdict.

The case could be dropped before the appeals procedure is completed if a final verdict does not come before the charges expire under Italy's "statute of limitations".

* The fate of two other cases depends on the court's ruling.

One involves the acquisition of TV rights by Mediaset, which according to prosecutors bought the rights at an inflated price from two offshore companies controlled by Berlusconi. Berlusconi is accused of tax fraud and false accounting.

The second case concerns allegations that a number of senators were offered bribes to join Berlusconi's coalition in 2007, when the centre left was in power and he was the leader of the opposition.

* Another case creating bad headlines for him is the 750 million euros ($1.09 billion) in damages his Fininvest holding company was ordered this weekend to pay out in a long-running takeover dispute with heavy political overtones [ID:nL575742].

Fininvest [FIN.UL] must compensate CIR (CIRX.MI), owned by Berlusconi's bitter foe Carlo De Benedetti, for bribing a judge in a 1990s takeover battle for publisher Mondadori (MOED.MI).

But, although a Milan court's verdict on Saturday said Berlusconi was "jointly responsible", he was cleared in 2001 of criminal charges in the case.

(reporting by Silvia Aloisi and Emilio Parodi)