Justice Minister Carlo Nordio on
Thursday said a Constitutional reform bill to separate the
career paths of prosecutors and judges which received its first
green light from the Lower House will foster the independence of
the judiciary and not hinder it, as alleged by its opponents.
"The mother of all reforms, which is the separation of careers,
and especially the institution of the High Court of Justice, and
the draw of magistrates will have a series of positive
consequences for the judiciary itself", said Nordio, addressing
the Senate.
The bill also creates a high court to discipline members of the
judiciary and changes the make-up of the judiciary's
self-governing body, the CSM, overhauling the way CSM justices
are elected, using a draw process.
"The judiciary today is independent from the executive power,
and it must be and will remain so but it is not independent from
itself at all", said Nordio, adding that members of the
judiciary depend on factions within the judiciary's union, the
National Association of Magistrates (ANM), that "keep them under
protection".
Nordio said the reform will "break this pathological connection
that unites the voter and the elected" in the judiciary's
self-governing body, the Superior Council of Magistrates (CSM),
"which finds its most pathological manifestation in the
disciplinary branch".
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