European Association of Judges: “Separation of careers harmful, government should abandon reform”

"The European Association of Judges (EAJ) has expressed further concern and deep disappointment in learning from the National Association of Magistrates (ANM) that, despite serious objections, also expressed by the Italian judiciary and by authoritative legal scholars, and despite the massive mobilization of individual Italian magistrates with a national strike, the Italian government continues to push forward the legislative process without any critical review of the problematic aspects contained in the bill". This was announced in a press release from the ANM that summarizes what, in the opinion of EAJ, are the critical issues of the reform of the CSM.

The main objections previously raised by the EAJ are that "the fragmentation of the unified Supreme Judicial Council into two separate councils (one for judges and one for prosecutors) may weaken the judiciary and open the way for influences on criminal proceedings; furthermore, the strong guarantee against undue external pressure could be weakened and the protection of the unity and autonomy of the judiciary compromised".

Another criticality highlighted by Eaj concerns "disciplinary proceedings, which can decisively influence the careers of judges, and which are a fundamental competence and must be entrusted to the body responsible for protecting the independence of the judiciary and ensuring the efficiency of the judicial system. This must also be reflected in the composition of the body itself and in the selection of the people who compose it".

"A random selection mechanism (drawing lots) for the members of the self-governing bodies - the note continues - blatantly contradicts European standards, according to which the members of the judicial councils must be elected by their peers".

"The EAJ once again urges the Italian government to reconsider the path taken and to abandon the proposed constitutional reform in its current form, whose harmful aspects will not contribute to the efficiency of justice, but will damage the independence of the judiciary and trust in it", the statement concludes.