Justice Minister Andrea Orlando
on Thursday said a criminal-justice reform up for discussion in
the Senate is "not deferrable", addressing the inauguration
ceremony of the judicial year at the Cassation Court in Rome.
Measures so far adopted to cut the workload of courts "must
be supported by further measures on the length of procedures" to
speed up trials.
Under Italy's three-tiered trial system, verdicts only become
binding at the trial of third instance - usually at the highest
appeals court, the Court of Cassation - with many cases timing
out due to their lengthy proceedings.
Also addressing the inauguration ceremony in Rome, the
vice-president of the judiciary's self-governing body CSM,
Giovanni Legnini, called for an improvement in relations between
the government and magistrates' union ANM, urging for a "sense
of responsibility" and a "culture of dialogue".
The ANM on Thursday did not attend the inauguration ceremony
for the first time as a form of protest against the government
over reforms regarding the postponement of retirement age, which
the government has only allowed for top magistrate at the
Cassation, Council of State and the Court of Auditors, and the
timeframe required to apply for a new post.
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