Criminal-justice reform 'not deferrable'

(ANSA) - Rome, January 26 - 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.