Constitutional Changes in Judicial Reform Unprecedented-ANM

Rome: The secretary general of the judiciary’s union, the National Association of Magistrates (ANM), stated on Monday that a proposed government reform to separate the career paths of judges and prosecutors would significantly alter the Constitution by changing the relationship between the State’s powers, potentially paving the way for political influence over judicial authority.

According to Ansa News Agency, ANM Secretary General Salvatore Casciaro expressed concerns on State broadcaster Rai Tre’s Agor  program, emphasizing that “over the past 50 years, perhaps, no reform has ever radically overturned the physiognomy of the Constitution” in such a manner. He warned that the reform could disrupt the balance between the powers of the State, potentially enabling political influence over judicial power.

ANM President Giuseppe Santalucia shared his apprehensions with Sky Tg24, stating that the reform would “worsen the service” provided by magistrates to citizens and “weaken the framework of guarantees.” He cautioned that the separation of career paths might lead to “a giant prosecutor who will be necessarily closer to the executive,” potentially marking the beginning of criminal prosecution being influenced by political power, thus challenging the principle of equality.

Santalucia further criticized a draw process introduced by the reform to elect the judiciary’s self-governing body, the Superior Council of Magistrates (CSM). Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, the architect of the reform, argues that this measure aims to break the “pathological” hold of factions on the allegedly interlocking groups of judges and prosecutors, which he claims exist in a highly politicized judicial world. However, Santalucia contended that this process would “deprive magistrates of the active and passive electoral vote,” effectively diminishing their ability to elect representatives.

Italian magistrates are set to strike on February 27 in opposition to the planned reform, which received its first green light from the Lower House on Thursday, marking one of the four necessary parliamentary votes to approve the constitutional reform bill. On that day, coinciding with the start of the judicial year in Italy, the ANM plans to urge its members to leave the hall when Justice Minister Carlo Nordio inaugurates proceedings. They will also don a tricolour cockade and display placards with excerpts from the Italian Constitution, highlighting why the controversial reform is viewed as a breach of the founding charter that underscores the independence of the judiciary in Italy’s balance of powers with the executive and parliamentary branches.