FACTBOX-Silvio Berlusconi's legal headaches

Jan 11 (Reuters) - Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is trying to regain his immunity from prosecution.

Following are details of some legal proceedings against the 73-year-old conservative prime minister and media mogul:

* THE MILLS CASE:

-- Berlusconi is charged with paying British lawyer David Mills a $600,000 bribe in 1997 from secret funds held by his family-owned broadcasting empire Mediaset to withhold incriminating details of business dealings.

-- Mills has been convicted of taking the bribe and sentenced to 4-1/2 years in jail, pending an appeal.

-- The case against Berlusconi was suspended while he enjoyed immunity from prosecution as prime minister, thanks to a law he introduced after winning the 2008 election. But this was ruled unconstitutional last October, allowing trials against him to resume.

His lawyers have argued that his official duties constituted "legitimate impediment" to him attending the Mills trial before February. The next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15.

* THE MEDIASET CASE:

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

-- That trial was scheduled to resume last November but Berlusconi's lawyers said the earliest date he could attend was in January. The next hearing is set for Jan. 18.

* THE FININVEST CASE:

-- Last October a court ordered Berlusconi's Fininvest holding company to pay 750 million euros ($1.09 billion) in damages to CIR, which is owned by Berlusconi's business rival Carlo De Benedetti. CIR is a holding company which owns La Repubblica daily and weekly magazine L'Espresso, which have been highly critical of Berlusconi.

-- The judge ordered Fininvest to compensate CIR for bribing a judge in a 1990s takeover battle for publisher Mondadori. An appeals court suspended the compensation ruling. The first hearing is set for Feb. 23.

* COURT "PERSECUTION":

-- Berlusconi has repeatedly accused Italian prosecutors of "persecuting" him because of political bias and he also levelled this accusation at the Constitutional Court when it removed his immunity from prosecution in October 2009.

-- The prime minister complains that he has faced 109 trials and 200 million euros ($300 million) in legal fees since he first entered politics 15 years ago.

-- His lawyers and political allies are trying to get back some form of immunity from prosecution for the prime minister. On Tuesday, the government is due to submit to parliament -- where Berlusconi has an ample majority -- a bill that would drastically cut the duration of Italy's slow trials.

-- Other measures include a bill that would force court cases to be rescheduled in accordance with Berlusconi's official commitments, and a constitutional law that would restore his immunity -- and possibly extend it to all members of parliament.

-- The opposition and magistrates say these are all attempts to stop the trials against Berlusconi. (Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing and additional writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)