The government of Premier Giorgia
Meloni and its coalition partner Forza Italia (FI) will press
ahead with the separation of the career paths of prosecutors and
judges, Deputy Premier, Foreign Minister and acting head of
Forza Italia Antonio Tajani said in an interview to Il
Messaggero, published Sunday.
The controversial reform "is one of the historical pillars of
our programme since 1994" said Tajani, adding that it was an
"unfulfilled dream" of the late former premier and FI founder
and leader, Silvio Berlusconi.
Tajani denied that the government's recent criticism of a
judge's ruling in relation to proceedings concerning justice
undersecretary Andrea Delmastro amounted to an attack on the
judiciary and said that reforms proposed by Justice Minister
Carlo Nordio are not intended as punishment for decisions or
comments that it doesn't like.
"I do not see any attack against the magistrates," said the
minister, insisting that justice reform is "a precise commitment
made to voters".
"Minister Nordio is a magistrate, it is clear that no one is
seeking revenge against magistrates," added Tajani.
On Saturday the president of Italian magistrates' union ANM,
Giuseppe Santalucia, accused the government and the justice
ministry of "delegitimising" the judiciary on Delmastro, after
sources at Palazzo Chigi described as "unusual" the decision by
a Rome preliminary investigations judge to reject a request from
the prosecution to shelve the case against the undersecretary
for allegedly breaching secrecy rules and order it to instead
formulate a request for his indictment.
The government sources also suggested that some magistrates had
joined the opposition.
"Reforms can be liked or not, for us it is important to
distinguish constitutional roles. Parliament makes the laws, the
judiciary applies them," Tajani told Il Messaggero.
Last month Nordio presented a justice reform bill including a
clamp-down on the publication of information obtained from
wiretaps, abolition of the crime of abuse of office,
cancellation of prosecutors' rights to appeal against acquittals
for many minor crimes, and preliminary steps towards the
separation of the career paths of prosecutors and judges, among
other things.
ANM chief Santalucia has said that the part of the justice bill
stopping prosecutors from appealing against acquittals for less
serious crimes is likely to be declared unconstitutional,
prompting the minister to accuse magistrates of potentially
crossing the line into politics and unduly meddling in political
life, breaching the Constitutionally mandated separation of
powers between the executive and judiciary branches.
Santalucia, however, rejected suggestions that the ANM wanted to
interfere.
"Magistrates and the ANM, which has represented them for over a
century, have not only the right but also the duty to speak, to
enrich the debate on justice issues," said Santalucia.
"Because this way they broaden the debate and contribute, with
their argued and reasoned point of view, to improving the
quality of reforms wherever possible.
"This is the essence of democratic life," he added.
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