Family in the woods: no disciplinary offences for the magistrates

Following the outcome of the investigation into family in the woods ordered by the Minister of Justice, ‘no evidence of disciplinary offences on the part of the magistrates has emerged’. The Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, announced in a statement that he had ordered the case to be closed. With a further clarification from Via Arenula, ‘decisions on the merits, in accordance with the independence and autonomy of the judiciary, are not subject to assessment’. The judges’ actions had come under the minister’s scrutiny, triggering an institutional clash.

Following the decision to initiate the process of sending inspectors, the Court of L’Aquila and the National Magistrates’ Association had complained about interference by the Ministry in the work of the judges. Even then, the President of the Juvenile Court of L’Aquila, Cecilia Angrisano, and the public prosecutor, David Mancini, had issued a statement denouncing the ‘aggressive and inappropriate tone’ following various interventions deemed an attack on the judges involved in the proceedings. This included that of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who, in a television interview on 8 March, had spoken of ‘ideological interpretations’ by the judiciary.

This was followed by a response from the heads of the youth services in L’Aquila, who explained the reasons behind their actions: ‘In view of the media uproar caused by recent legal proceedings, which are still at the preliminary investigation stage and have been commented on by many, including in aggressive and unrestrained terms, it is the duty of the magistrates working in the juvenile courts, and in particular at the Juvenile Court of L’Aquila and the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office of L’Aquila, to affirm that every judicial initiative within their remit is guided exclusively by the principles of protection of the rights of minors, as enshrined in the Constitution and in international law.

The Ministry, by sending inspectors and initiating disciplinary proceedings, had intervened in the wake of the controversy surrounding the judicial authorities’ intervention regarding the removal of children from their parents and the procedures for safeguarding children’s rights.

The National Magistrates’ Association has taken note of the case being dismissed: ‘The magistrates of the Juvenile Court of L’Aquila have carried out their duties with integrity and transparency, in accordance with laws and procedures. This is also confirmed by the Ministry of Justice in the inspectors’ report. We take note of this – writes the ANM – and reiterate our support for our colleagues who, in recent months, have been the target of systematic attacks simply for having done their duty on a case that was at the centre of political attention.”