Parliament

Justice, career separation: what the reform changes for prosecutors and judges

The law will be submitted to a popular referendum. The consultation (for which no quorum is required) is expected to be held in spring next year

by Rome Editorial Staff

30 October 2025Aggiornato il 1 novembre 2025 ore 12:50

Illustrazione di Giorgio De Marinis / Il Sole 24 Ore

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Parliament has given the final green light to the reform introducing the separation of the careers of the judiciary. In the Senate, the last stage of the approval process, the constitutional bill had 112 votes in favour, 59 against and 9 abstentions. Pd, M5s and Avs voted against. Iv abstained. In favour of the reform was also Action. The vote was the fourth and final parliamentary passage, as provided for by the Constitution.

After the 'double conforming reading' of the two chambers, since the two-thirds majority was not reached, there will be aconfirmative referendum, which should take place in the spring of 2026.

The majority parliamentarians have already taken steps to request the referendum, and the collection of signatures will start next week. 80 signatures are needed in total for the parliamentarians, while 41 will suffice for the Senate.

The move follows the formal request that the centre-right group leaders of the two chambers sent to their respective secretaries-general. There are three months to collect the signatures, and the next step will be their deposit in the Supreme Court. For the majority, the popular vote may represent a sort of tow towards the general elections coming 'between March and April 2027', as Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said.

One judiciary, two careers

At the heart of the measure is the separation of the careers of prosecutors and judges, whereby each will have to make a definitive choice of function at the start of his or her career, and remain there. The current Article 104 of the Constitution states that 'the judiciary constitutes an autonomous order and is independent of any other power', to which the reform adds that it 'is composed of magistrates from the judging career and the prosecuting career'.

The two Csm and appointment by lot

The current Superior Council of the Magistracy (Csm) will be replaced by two: one 'of the judiciary' and the other 'of the prosecuting magistracy'; both 'are presided over by the President of the Republic'; the first president and the Attorney General of the Supreme Court are members by right. The two Councils will not be elective. They will be composed of one third lay members and two thirds members of the judiciary; the first will be drawn by lot from a list of jurists prepared by the Parliament in common session; the second will be drawn from all judges and prosecutors who meet the requirements to be established by a subsequent ordinary law. The members of the two Csm 'will hold office for four years and cannot participate in the subsequent drawing of lots'.

The powers of the two Csm

The two SCMs will lose their disciplinary powers currently entrusted to a special section of the current SCM. They will have competences with regard to 'recruitment, assignments, transfers, professionalism evaluations and assignments of functions with regard to magistrates'

The High Disciplinary Court

Disciplinary jurisdiction over all magistrates is attributed to the High Disciplinary Court. It will be composed of 15 members: 3 appointed by the President of the Republic; 3 drawn by lot from a list of jurists to be 'elected' by the joint session of Parliament; 6 drawn by lot from among judicial magistrates with 20 years of activity and experience in the Court of Cassation; 3 drawn by lot from among the prosecuting magistrates with 20 years of activity and experience in the Court of Cassation. The togati are therefore the majority, but the president is elected from among the laity. They remain in office for 4 years, and the appointment is not renewable.

Non-appealable judgments

Appeals against High Disciplinary Court rulings can only be lodged before the same Court, which will judge in second instance in a different composition from the first. The rulings cannot be appealed to the Court of Cassation. An ordinary law will lay down the disciplinary offences, sanctions, composition of the panels, proceedings and functioning of the High Court.

implementing laws

The last article of the reform states that 'within one year' of its entry into force (i.e. after the referendum), implementing laws must be passed. In the meantime, existing laws continue to be observed.

The referendum

The Chamber and Senate, in the 'conforming second reading', gave the go-ahead without reaching the two-thirds quorum that would have prevented recourse to the confirmatory referendum. Article 138 of the Constitution, which regulates changes to our fundamental charter, states that if the two-thirds quorum is not reached in both chambers at second reading, 'one fifth of the members of a chamber or five hundred thousand voters or five regional councils' may request a referendum within three months. A referendum, the confirmatory one, which, unlike the abrogative one of laws, does not require the quorum of 50% of those registered on the electoral lists.