Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said Friday that it is 'blasphemous' to argue that his reform of the judiciary will undermine magistrates' independence at the ceremony for the opening of the supreme Court of Cassation's judicial year.
Among other things, the reform, which will be put to a referendum in March, separates the career paths of judges and prosecutors so they can no longer swap between the roles, creates a high court to discipline members of the judiciary and changes the make-up of its self-regulating body, the CSM, overhauling the way its justices are elected, using a draw process.
Magistrates union ANM and opposition parties are staunchly against the reform, saying it will weaken the judiciary and could be a step towards placing prosecutors under the executive's control.
"I consider it blasphemous to claim that the reform seeks to undermine the principle of independence and autonomy of judges," Nordio said at Friday's ceremony.
Premier Giorgia Meloni's government argues it is necessary to split prosecutors and judges into two separate professional groups, saying them being part of the same body creates the risk of them having cosy relations, which could mean defendants do not get a fair trial.
