Because Justice doesn’t work. Professor Cassese speaks

16 July 202310 months ago babelfish

How to reform the Justice? Conversation with Sabino Cassese, jurist, former Minister of Public Administration, former judge of the Constitutional Court

"In our country there is no real separation of powers." To say it is the jurist, former minister and former judge of the Constitutional Court, Sabino Cassese . "The legislative power – continues Judge Cassese – is moving to the executive one, the administrative function tends to be absorbed by the legislative body, the judiciary occupies spaces that are proper to the legislative function and often also to the administrative one". The theme on the bench is yet another clash between politics and the judiciary that our country is experiencing.

THE CLASH BETWEEN POLITICS AND THE JUDGMENT

On the one hand there is the case of Del Mastro delle Vedove. The investigating magistrate of Rome Emanuela Attura has requested the forced indictment of the deputy minister of justice, although the investigating magistrate had asked for the dismissal of his position in the context of the investigations for disclosure of official secrecy in relation to the Cospito case , the anarchist detained to 41 bis. On the other hand, there is the Santanché case. The tourism minister said she was only informed of her indictment in the press. "If there is no real separation of powers, the functions of the State will always be the subject of conflicts and that between politics and the representation of the judiciary is one of them", remarks prof. Cassese.

THE BOTTOM AND ANSWER BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE ANM

"Those who trust in the clash seen in other eras I fear will be disappointed," said Premier Meloni , commenting on the complaints of the ANM according to which the judiciary is under attack. “The Del Mastro and Santanché events are signs of a crisis situation, which must be evaluated in its entirety – explains prof. Cassese -. It is therefore necessary to start from the delays of justice and the enormous number of pending cases, make justice more prompt, bring magistrates back to the exercise of the judicial function, while now they are scattered in the exercise of all the powers of the State, bring to justice and to the magistrates true independence and autonomy, which will not exist as long as there are magistrates in all the other powers of the State and as long as the body of magistrates is represented by a "militant" associative summit."

SEPARATION OF CAREERS?

Meanwhile, the Government, through the voice of Minister Tajani, reaffirmed its willingness to continue along the path of separation of careers. “We should start from the separation of powers to arrive at the separation of careers – adds Judge Cassese -. The latter is an indispensable completion of the Vassalli reform”. However , part of the judiciary does not like the idea of having separate careers and on the horizon there could be the risk of a "reaction" that could exacerbate the clash between politics and the judiciary, perhaps through judicial initiatives. “It is possible that at the basis of the opposition to the separation of careers there is simply a "body" reaction, ie that the single career allows easier and more frequent transfers and promotions – reassures the jurist -. However, the fight depends on who raises their voice and who lends megaphones to those who raise their voices”.

JUSTICE REFORM: ABUSE OF OFFICE AND INFLUENCE TRAFFICKING

Among the other rules which, according to Justice Minister Nordio's plan, should be subject to reform are the abuse of office and the crime of trading in influence. Both met with a resounding "no" from the ANM. “In Italy there are enough tools to keep corruption under control. In the European Union, they know well which bodies and procedures are in charge of this function in Italy – explains prof. Cassese -. Therefore, the intervention proposed to the government is feasible and desirable”.

SABINO CASSESE: "A DELAYED JUSTICE IS NOT AUTHENTIC JUSTICE"

In the book " The Government of the Judges " (Laterza, 104 pages, 12 euros) prof. Cassese described the judiciary as an institution that no longer enjoys the full trust of citizens and within which there are imbalances. “The judges have as their main task that of giving justice. Delayed justice is not real justice. A justice that takes place on the pages of the newspapers and not in the courtrooms is not authentic justice. A justice administered by magistrates who are considered partisans is not a truly impartial justice – concludes the jurist -. Therefore, the priorities are: prompt justice; a discreet justice; a justice managed by impartial magistrates”.

(Posted in Policy Maker )

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/primo-piano/perche-la-giustizia-non-funziona-parla-il-professor-cassese/ on Sun, 16 Jul 2023 06:16:47 +0000.