Justice

Nordio at the Anm: the collegial judge slips. Stalemate instead on the trial office

The debut of the reform on precautionary measures will be postponed. Meanwhile in the Senate, the majority finds an agreement to restart the debate on the statute of limitations

by Giovanni Negri

30 April 2026

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

After the referendum, the first face-to-face meeting took place yesterday evening between the Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio, the National Association of Magistrates and the National Council of Lawyers. The atmosphere was certainly different and more relaxed after the bitterness of the referendum campaign, as emphasised by the new president of the ANM, Giuseppe Tango: "It went well in the sense that, in a very constructive dialogue and in a very cordial setting, we finally got back to dealing with the real issues and problems that afflict the justice system and to which we need to give concrete answers. After the referendum storm, it is time to turn the page and therefore to tie those threads again'.

Collegialità

Of the three priorities put on the table by the Magistrates' Association (collegiate judge, trial office and prison), there was a concrete opening by the minister on the collegiality aspect of the decision on precautionary measures, which, destined to come into force at the end of August, will be postponed until the staff of the Magistrates' Courts will be able to cope with it concretely.

Magistrate support staff

On the trial office, strong perplexities have been expressed by the ANM on the allocation of adjuncts who, once stabilised, should be employed in direct support of the magistrate, consolidating the results obtained at the Pnrr, while their use is instead in support rather of the chancelleries.

Prison and decriminalisation

On prisons, having acknowledged the emergency, however, no significant further interventions are in sight. The subject of depenalisation, emphasised in recent days by Nordio himself, has remained more as a suggestion than as an actual project to be implemented in the final stretch of the legislature, 'it was not among our priorities,' explained Tango, 'but we are ready to make our contribution.

From the legal profession, represented by the president of the CNF Francesco Greco, a package of proposals was presented that affects both civil and criminal trials, especially on the point of appeals, as well as possible measures to be taken for prisons.

Justice Policy

And on the justice policy front, yesterday the majority agreed to restart (but without haste) the path of the reform of the statute of limitations. Long since stopped in the Senate's Justice Committee, the text already approved in the House will be examined again starting next week with a series of hearings. This was the outcome of the majority summit held yesterday in the Senate. As for the timing of approval, the uncertainty is much greater. The current version of the statute of limitations, which is the result of a very difficult balancing act reached during the past legislature centred on improper prosecution in the event of failure to comply with the phase terms, is linked to the agreement with Europe in the NRP on backlog disposal and time cuts. Consequently, as emphasised by the Ministry of Justice itself, it is likely that a final go-ahead can only be spoken of after the summer.