Justice Minister Carlo Nordio on
Wednesday defended his plans to rein in prosecutors' allegedly
arbitrary criminal prosecutions and allegedly excessive use of
wiretapping which he said was being used to personally
delegitimise people.
He also said plans to separate the career paths of judges and
prosecutors did not mean the latter would be put under the
control of the government, as in many other countries, seeking
to ease fears raised by the opposition and the magistrates
union.
Among other things, Nordio denied accusing prosecutors of
handing out allegedly defamatory and not criminal wiretaps
illegally to the media, but did say there had been a "lack of
vigilance" on the part of the judiciary in not making sure
wiretaps that had nothing to do with cases did not unfairly
damage reputations and hurt people.
He said this deligitimising practice had "not just hit
politicians and administrators but also magistrates", referring
to recent probes.
Nordio said he was ready to "battle all the way, up to and
including my resignation, in order to stamp out this trash of
arbitrary diffusion (of personally sensitive wiretaps)".
As for the planned separation of career paths, Nordio said "this
does not mean making prosecutors subject to the executive".
Nordio said Tuesday that a "revision of the Constitution" could
be part of a reform of Italy's criminal justice system in order
to ensure people are considered innocent until proven guilty.
Addressing the Senate justice committee, Nordio said the
presumption of innocence "continues to be wounded in many ways"
in Italy and lamented the "excessive" use of wiretapping.
He said criminal prosecution had become "arbitrary and
whimsical" and that preventative incarceration was being used as
"an instrument of investigative pressure".
He said the leaking of wiretaps had become "a lethal tool of
personal and often political delegitimization". Nordio said the
government would propose a "profound revision" of the rules on
wiretaps, adding that "we will monitor in a rigorous way
improper, arbitrary leaks".
The former magistrate added that it makes no sense for
prosecutors and judges to remain part of the same professional
guild, a statement that suggests he is in favour of them having
distinct career paths without the option to switch from one to
the other.
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