The Keeper of the Seals in the Chamber

Nordio: on the left many 'no' to justice reform for political reasons

Seven resolutions on justice were tabled in the Chamber of Deputies on the occasion of the communication by Guardasigilli Carlo Nordio

21 January 2026

Nordio: Molti all'opposizione sono pro riforma Giustizia, ma votano "no" per appartenenza politica

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

"It must be clear that the justice reform, which aims to implement a 40-year-old procedural revolution, is neither against the judiciary, nor against the opposition, nor against anyone. But there have been many people far from our political position who have come out in favour. One member of the opposition, Mr Bettini, said he would be in favour, but since this is a political vote that will be for or against Meloni, he will vote against'. Thus the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, in his report on Justice in the Chamber.

There were protests in the courtroom from the oppositions when the minister, speaking of the justice reform, spoke of "a petulant litany (i.e. that one would like to "put the pm under the executive") in the face of which there is no possibility of reply". At this point, several deputies of the oppositions, starting with Dem deputy Federico Fornaro, protested noisily, taken up by the president on duty Fabio Rampelli who told them: 'When it is your turn you will speak. "I can't find what other adjective can be used," Nordio then reiterated, taking the floor again.

"The first objective," he added, "is to adapt to the will of the sovereign people, which will be expressed in the referendum confirming the constitutional reform. The Keeper of the Seals then stated that the reform is based on three fundamental pillars: it introduces the separation of careers between judges and prosecutors; it establishes two distinct Superior Councils elected by lot; and it creates an autonomous and independent disciplinary court. "No provision of the reform," he added, "envisages, either in letter or in spirit, the subjection of the public prosecutor to the executive. On the contrary, in the new wording of Article 104 of the Constitution, it is made explicit in clear letters that 'the judiciary constitutes an autonomous order independent of any other power and is composed of magistrates from the judiciary and the prosecution career'".

"For juveniles we will aim for certainty of punishment"

Speaking, however, of the norms against juvenile violence announced by the government, Nordio recalled 'the representation of justice, holding in one hand the scales, which signifies balance, and in the other the sword, which represents the strength and effectiveness of the sanction. The punishment must be balanced and proportionate, but it must be applied. There is nothing worse than threatening a penalty and then saying we joked. Our orientation on these measures will be inspired by these principles: there must be no overreaction or tyranny but we must bear in mind that enforcement and certainty of punishment is essential, even for juveniles'.

"Juvenile detention on the rise, but still residual"

"Juvenile detention, although on the rise, has maintained a residual character compared to alternative and community measures," the minister detailed. "Out of almost 600 daily admissions in the PMIs, more than 140,000 minors and young adults were taken into custody by the juvenile and community services for alternative measures and sanctions, with an overall increase of 1.42 per cent compared to the previous year. This last figure deserves special attention: as at 31 December 2025, 141,458 persons - 125,997 males and 15,461 females - were in the care of the external criminal enforcement offices. Of these, 100,666 were subject to community measures and sanctions and 40,792 to investigations and counselling. Therefore, the number of persons subject to community measures far exceeded the number of inmates in penal institutions - 63,499 in the same period - confirming the goodness of the Italian model of community justice". "The rate of revocation of alternative measures remained extremely low, 1.6 per cent, despite the constant increase in the number of measures granted, confirming the quality of the treatment programmes and the synergy between the judiciary, social services and the territory," Nordio stressed.

"Suicides in prison down 10%"

"In 2025, the phenomenon of suicides in prison continued to manifest itself with numbers that, although down by 10 per cent, required reflection and determined action with a specific Prevention and Counteraction Plan," the minister continued. "With regard to social reintegration, work on the outside has increased overall by 15 per cent, from 1,860 to 2,135."

"Achieved all Pnrr targets"

"The implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan has been the main driver of reforms and investments, marking an epoch-making turning point in the modernisation of the Italian justice system," the minister added. "All the milestones and targets within the ministry's remit that have come due," he continued, "have been fully achieved by 31 December 2025. Out of a total of EUR 2.7 billion allocated to the ministry, payments totalling EUR 1.98 billion, or 72.91%, have been made.

The minister then summarised the main results. The reduction of the civil backlog 2019, at the Courts, reached -95.8%; at the Courts of Appeal, -99.4%. In addition, the reduction of the 2022 civil backlog - a target due in June 2026 - reached 85.2% at the ordinary courts and 85.4% at the Courts of Appeal, a figure already close to the pre-established target. These figures are certified as of November 2025 and constantly monitored. With regard to the reduction of processing times, in the civil sector, the disposition time - calculated as of the first half of 2025 - was reduced by -27.8% compared to 2019; in the criminal sector, the reduction was -37.8%. These results exceed the targets set by the Plan in some cases, confirming the effectiveness of procedural reforms and investments in human capital.

Results above target with regard to digitisation. "With respect to the ambitious target of digitising 7,750,000 court files," Nordio said, "as of 31 December 2025, the Ministry has completed the digitisation of 7,801,142 court files, thus even exceeding the planned target. With regard to investments in judicial buildings, the minister went on to state that 'as many as 289,000 square metres of judicial buildings are being upgraded by the first quarter of 2026: in this sense, all 60 planned interventions are in the process of being carried out, with some already tested and operational'. Finally, also on 'human capital', the ministry has 'reached and exceeded' the target of hiring and retaining 10,000 Pnrr personnel. As of 31 October 2025, 11,650 staff were in service, net of 6,518 resignations, with a certified expenditure of EUR 1,586,607,662, approximately 70% of the total Pnrr funding of EUR 2.2 billion.

Majority: Government implements reform with two Csm and career separation

The Government is called upon 'to adopt the necessary legislative acts to effectively and concretely implement the constitutional reform within the timeframe envisaged by it. In particular, to adopt the rules on the establishment, composition by drawing lots of their members and functioning of the two High Councils envisaged; to regulate the establishment, constitution, powers and functioning of the High Disciplinary Court". This is the first of the 11 commitments indicated by the majority in the resolution deposited in the Chamber following the communications by the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, on the administration of justice.

The document urges, inter alia, the Executive to 'continue to adapt the regulatory framework to the needs of society, through the conscious observation of criminal phenomena that evolve and change rapidly as the means available evolve and change, also by constantly listening to the trade associations'. And to 'continue the fruitful activity of deploying funds in structural investments aimed at making Italian justice and its infrastructures ever more efficient and rapid and at implementing the digital tools in use by justice operators and professionals, in order to overcome the initial criticalities that occurred'.

In addition to the majority resolution, the assembly in Montecitorio will vote on six other texts, deposited by the oppositions (Pd, M5S, Avs, Az, Iv, +Eu).