Psychometric tests for future magistrates are introduced for the first time
In the new call for applications for 300 places, the new eligibility criteria are being introduced for the very first time. A written test will be held at the same time for all candidates who have already been admitted to the oral examination
Key points
psychometric tests for magistrates. The Ministry of Justice decree of 5 November, announcing the forthcoming recruitment exercise for 300 posts – the sixth since the start of the parliamentary term (2,300 posts in total), the main change introduced in 2024 as part of a wider reform of the judicial system – which was overturned by the referendum last March. Article 5 of the decree, in fact, adds a new sub-paragraph, (m) bis, to the list of examination subjects, introducing a psychological and aptitude interview to verify the absence of unsuitability for the exercise of judicial functions.
Times and methods
Article 9 then sets out the timetable and procedures: once the assessment of the written papers has been completed, candidates admitted to the oral examination will sit written tests in preparation for the subsequent interview. The psycho-aptitude tests are scheduled to take place in a single group session , on the same day and at the same time for all eligible candidates, in order to ensure the standardisation of the procedure, equal treatment and the simultaneous nature of the assessment.
Compulsory attendance
Participation in the group session for the written tests constitutes a compulsory stage and a necessary prerequisite for the subsequent interview to take place. Failure by a candidate to attend at the specified date, time and venue, for whatever reason, will result in exclusion from the competition and forfeiture of the right to sit the oral examination, ‘given the technical and discretionary nature of the psychometric assessment and the fact that it is generally not repeatable’.
The suitability assessment
The notice specifying the date, time and venue of the group session for the psychological and aptitude tests will be published in the *Gazzetta Ufficiale* and on the Ministry of Justice’s website, www.giustizia.it. The eligibility criteria will thus be assessed following a process that begins with the administration of the tests, continues with a face-to-face interview conducted by the chair of the session with the participation of a specialist psychologist, and concludes with an evaluative summary by the entire examination board.
The requirements for the CSM
On 16 September, following a lengthy and controversial preparatory process, the CSM approved a resolution identifying five key areas for the conduct of the tests, with the most detailed reference to the requirements whose absence results in a finding of unsuitability:
