Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said the Superior Council of Magistrates (CSM) is not functioning properly. He spoke at a congress in the Lower House on Tuesday.
Nordio has proposed a Constitutional reform bill to separate judges’ and prosecutors’ career paths. The bill also changes how CSM members are elected. Parliament is currently examining it.
He stated that incapable judges who fail to stay updated must face career penalties. “How is it possible that 99.99% of magistrates’ evaluations of colleagues are excellent, yet later issues emerge?” he asked. “The CSM is not working properly, or such discrepancies would not exist.”
He accused magistrates of protecting each other within the judiciary’s self-governing body. “We all know there are factions,” he said.
The reform aims to prevent judiciary members from switching between judicial and prosecutorial roles. The bill has passed the first of four required parliamentary votes. It also introduces a high court to discipline magistrates and changes the CSM’s composition through a draw system.
Nordio told the centrist Noi Moderati party congress that the reform is untouchable. “One branch of Parliament has already approved it,” he said.
He hopes for a referendum after a fair debate. “No one should be humiliated, whether magistrates or politicians,” he added.
The magistrates’ union ANM organised a nationwide strike against the reform last month. It claims the reform places prosecutors under executive control, a charge Nordio denies.
