Meloni government seeks to overhaul Italy’s justice system in move opposed by the judiciary.
Italy will hold a referendum on 22-23 March over a controversial constitutional reform of the justice system, amid opposition from magistrates and the centre-left opposition.
A key provision of the sweeping reform is the separation of careers for judges and prosecutors, meaning they would no longer be able to switch between the two roles and must choose from the outset which career to follow.
Currently, those wishing to become a magistrate take a single public competition, valid for both positions, and after passing it, decide whether to become a public prosecutor or a judge.
They can also decide to switch between the two positions, but can only do so once and within the first nine years of their career.
Reform
The justice reform, championed by the right-wing government of prime minister Giorgia Meloni, was approved by parliament in October but requires a referendum to become law.
The government claims the flagship reform is intended to bolster the impartiality of judges by separating their career path from that of prosecutors, arguing that this will prevent conflicts of interest and reduce the risk of alleged political factions within the judiciary.
Meloni has long been at odds with Italy’s judiciary, regularly accusing magistrates of stymying plans by her government, from immigration to public works.
She has hailed the reform as “an important step towards a more efficient, balanced and citizen-orientated system”.
“Those who think that everything is fine in the justice system will vote against the reform, and therefore will vote no” – Meloni said in October – “Those who think it can improve will vote yes for the reform”.
Opposition
The National Association of Magistrates (ANM) and centre-left opposition parties are fiercely opposed to the reform, claiming it will weaken the judiciary and accusing the government of seeking control over who investigates crimes.
Elly Schlein, leader of the Partito Democratico (PD) party, said the reform “serves this government to have free rein and put itself above the laws and the constitution”, while Giuseppe Conte, leader of the Movimento 5 Stelle, said: “They want full powers, and we will oppose them at all costs.”
Referendum date
The date of the referendum has been long-debated: the government wanted to set it for early March, while the opposition wanted to hold it in April.
The centre-left parties and various committees against the move have sought to delay the referendum date as much as possible, assuming that with more time, it would be possible to mount a more effective referendum campaign against the reform.
Debate
The separation of judicial careers would represent a significant change to the judicial system, which has been debated by successive governments for decades.
Right-wing parties are in favour of the justice reform because, in their view, it would allow judges to have specific skills without being influenced by previous prosecutorial experience or by frequenting the same circles as prosecutors.
The reform is particularly popular with Forza Italia because it implements a long-standing thesis of Silvio Berlusconi, the party’s former leader and three-time prime minister, who claimed that his legal battles amounted to persecution by left-leaning magistrates.
The referendum is seen as a key test of support for Meloni’s government ahead of a 2027 election.
How the reform would change Italy’s judiciary structure
The reform aims to redefine the internal judiciary structure by creating distinct professional paths for judges and public prosecutors, who are currently part of a single body of magistrates.
There are currently significant overlaps between the two spheres, with the vast majority of both judges and prosecutors belonging to the ANM.
The reform would replace the current single judiciary council which oversees appointments, careers and disciplinary actions with two distinct councils – one for judges and one for prosecutors – while a new, separate high disciplinary court would be established to handle sanctions against magistrates.
Photo credit: Massimo Todaro / Shutterstock.com.
