Premier Giorgia Meloni had a meeting
with representatives of Italy's criminal lawyers on Wednesday at
which both sides agreed on the need for the government to press
ahead with its reform of the judiciary.
Among other things, the Constitutional reform aims to separate
the career paths of prosecutors and judges so members of the
judiciary can no longer switch between the two roles.
On Wednesday Meloni is also meeting magistrates union ANM, which
is staunchly opposed to the reform, saying it will weaken the
judiciary and could place State attorneys under the executive's
control, and staged a strike against it last month.
"We had a very in-depth meeting, touching on all the issues
concerning the Constitutional reform of the separation of
careers," said Francesco Petrelli, President of the Union of
Criminal Chambers, after the meeting at the premier's office.
"Obviously, we invited the government to go ahead without
hesitation on the path of this fundamental reform, which gives
back citizens the (right to a) fair trial by establishing (the
figure of) an impartial judge, as is written in Article 111 of
our Constitution, but which has never been realized in reality.
"The reform does not concern lawyers and it is certainly not
punitive towards the judiciary. It concerns all citizens and a
more modern justice system that is finally adequate for a
liberal democracy".
Sources said that Meloni reiterated the reasons behind the
reform during the meeting.
"Article 111 of the Constitution tells us that 'a fair trial' is
one that 'takes place in the adversarial process between the
parties, in conditions of equality, before a third-party,
impartial judge," Meloni said, according to the sources.
"A fair trial takes place before a judge who must not only be a
third party, but who must also appear to be a third party.
"This is exactly what we intend to do with this reform, which
provides for the separation between those who accuse and those
who judge and aims to guarantee true procedural equality between
the prosecution and the defence".
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