Naples Chief Prosecutor Nicola
Gratteri on Monday criticised the government's plan to reform
the career systems of Italian magistrates and separate the
career paths of judges and prosecutors so that it is no longer
possible to switch from one role to the other.
"I don't think it's urgent," Gratteri said when asked about the
reform during a press conference in the prosecutor's office in
Naples.
"Only 0.2 % make the switch from one function to another and
when it is granted, the magistrate has to change court of
appeal.
"I think it is an attempt to bring prosecutors under government
control.
'There is major psychological pressure on the prosecutors today.
"I have broad shoulders and nerves of steel. I have been eating
bread and poison for many years, but I imagine what it's like
for the young magistrates grappling with these reforms".
He also criticised removing the obligation to prosecute some
felonies in certain circumstances.
"'The criminal code must not be cut with an axe to prove to
Europe that the number of crimes in Italy has fallen," Gratteri
said.
"I am clearly against it and I was already against it when
prosecution was made optional with a previous reform".
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