Giuseppe Santalucia, the president of
Italian magistrates union ANM, said Monday that a justice reform
currently being examined by parliament might formally respect
the word of the Italian Constitution, but it is "not very
compliant" with its spirit.
Santalucia was addressing an assembly of magistrates at Milan's
Palazzo di Giustizia courthouse as Italian judges and
prosecutors staged their first one-day strike in 12 years.
The protest is targetting the reform drafted by Justice Minister
Marta Cartabia and the amendments to it passed in parliament.
Santalucia said it was an attempt to "control magistrates".
The ANM is particularly irked by the plan to introduce a
so-called 'report-card' system for magistrates' promotions.
This would take into account factors such as the time it takes
magistrates to do certain procedures and the number of their
rulings that are overturned at subsequent levels of justice.
Reforming Italy's snail-paced justice system is required to
qualify for EU post-COVID recovery funds.
The reforms come after recent scandals involving magistrates and
politicians dented the credibility of the judiciary.
The scandals involved influence peddling and corruption and led
to calls, including from President Sergio Mattarella, to root
out cronyism and factionalism in Italy's judiciary.
The overhaul also seeks to end the 'revolving door' system
whereby magistrates can become politicians and then get their
old jobs back.
Judges who take up politics and get elected to public office
will no longer be able to return to their positions once their
terms in office are over.
Judges who are elected to the Italian or European parliament, to
regional or town councils or who win mayoral elections will be
given administrative roles in the justice ministry after their
terms end and will not be able to rule on cases.
Furthermore, magistrates who run for office and do not get
elected or who are appointed to non-elected positions in
government will not be able to act as judges for three years
afterwards.
It will also no longer be possible for judges to continue
working and hold political posts at the same time, even if in
different regions.
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