FORMER Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi remains in hospital with an eye inflammation that kept him from both his sex-for-hire trial and tax fraud appeals.

San Raffaele hospital's chief ophthalmologist, Francesco Bandello, said today that Berlusconi's condition had only moderately improved overnight.

The 76-year-old Berlusconi has bilateral uveitis and was expected to remain in hospital at least until tomorrow.

Berlusconi's legal team has submitted petitions to courts in both cases requesting hearings be delayed because of the medical condition. Judges granted the petition in the sensational sex-for-hire case yesterday.

The court in the tax fraud appeal dispatched a court-appointed physician today to verify the condition.

Verdicts in both trials are due in the coming weeks, a politically sensitive time as Italy seeks to negotiate a stable government following inconclusive elections.