Italy to vote on judiciary reform as Meloni government aims to reshape the legal system amid opposition from magistrates and the centre-left.Italy will hold an important referendum aimed at overhauling the country's justice system in what has become a key test of prime minister Giorgia Meloni's authority.The upcoming vote, scheduled for 22-23 March, has been the focus of intense political and civic debate, with Meloni increasingly stepping into the fray directly. The justice reform, championed by Meloni's right-wing government, was approved by parliament last October but requires a referendum to become law. Reforms The proposed measures seek to address long-standing criticisms regarding the efficiency, accountability and impartiality of the Italian courts. Proponents argue that sweeping changes are essential to modernise a system often perceived as slow and overly politicised. Critics of the reforms - including the National Association of Magistrates (ANM) and the centre-left opposition - warn of potential risks to judicial independence. Career separation Central to the proposed reform is the separation of careers for judges and prosecutors, meaning they would no longer be able to switch between the two roles and must choose from the outset which profession to follow. Currently, those wishing to become a magistrate take a single public competition, valid for both positions, and after passing it, can decide whether to become a public prosecutor or a judge. There are currently significant overlaps between the two spheres, with the vast majority of both judges and prosecutors belonging to the ANM. Prosecutors and judges can also decide to switch between the two positions, but can only do so once and within the first nine years of their career. The reform aims to force an early and permanent choice, theoretically ensuring that judges remain entirely neutral arbiters rather than former colleagues of the prosecution. Government The government asserts that this is intended to strenghten the impartiality of judges by separating their career path from that of prosecutors, arguing that this will prevent conflicts of interest and reduce the risk of alleged political factions within the judiciary. Right-wing parties are in favour of the reform, claiming it would allow judges to have specific skills without being influenced by previous prosecutorial experience or by frequenting the same circles as prosecutors. The separation of judicial careers would represent a significant change to the justice system, which has been debated by successive governments for decades. The reform aims to redefine the internal judiciary structure by creating distinct professional paths for judges and public prosecutors, who are currently part of a single body of magistrates. The proposed changes would also replace the current single judiciary council which oversees appointments, careers and disciplinary actions, with two distinct councils - one for judges and one for prosecutors - while a new, separate high disciplinary court would be established to handle sanctions against magistrates. Yes versus No Meloni, who has been busy campaigning for a Yes vote in recent days, has long been at odds with Italy’s judiciary, regularly accusing magistrates of stymying plans by her government, from immigration to public works. In recent days she has stepped up her attacks on the judiciary - perhaps in response to polls suggesting that the No side were winning in the lead-up to the referendum - referring to alleged left-wing "factions" among their ranks and hitting out at "surreal" rulings, including in the so-called Forest Family case. Meloni has hailed the reform as "an important step towards a more efficient, balanced and citizen-orientated system". She insists that "no one is thinking of getting rid of the judiciary" and has vowed not to resign if the No side wins. "If justice is slow and stalled, we all pay the consequences; the decisions of magistrates impact so many aspects of our lives" - Meloni said at an event in Milan on Thursday - "The power of magistrates is enormous, and it's the only one that doesn't come with adequate accountability, because if a magistrate makes a mistake, they face no consequences; in fact, they often advance in their careers." Meloni claimed the reform addresses "the root causes of the malfunctioning of the justice system, not because we want to undermine the separation of legislative and judicial power". "If the reform doesn't pass this time, we'll most likely never get another chance," Meloni concluded, "and we'll find ourselves with even more powerful factions, even more negligent judges who advance their careers, and even more surreal decisions" including "illegal immigrants, rapists, paedophiles, drug dealers released from prison". Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left opposition Partito Democratico (PD) party, took aim at the reform and Meloni's rightwing coalition during a campaign speech for a No vote in Venice on Thursday. Schlein said the reform is being sought by "a government that even begins to tell judges which charges they should prosecute, [a government] which evidently wants to decide which crimes should be prosecuted, and which ones perhaps a little less so." Polls will be open on Sunday March 22 from 07.00 to 23.00, and on Monday 23 March from 07.00 to 15.00.

Italy will hold an important referendum aimed at overhauling the country's justice system in what has become a key test of prime minister Giorgia Meloni's authority. The upcoming vote, scheduled for 22-23 March, has been the focus of intense political and civic debate, with Meloni increasingly stepping into the fray directly. The justice reform, championed by Meloni's right-wing government, was approved by parliament last October but requires a referendum to become law. The proposed measures seek to address long-standing criticisms regarding the efficiency, accountability and impartiality of the Italian courts. Proponents argue that sweeping changes are essential to modernise a system often perceived as slow and overly politicised. Critics of the reforms - including the National Association of Magistrates (ANM) and the centre-left opposition - warn of potential risks to judicial independence. Central to the proposed reform is the separation of careers for judges and prosecutors, meaning they would no longer be able to switch between the two roles and must choose from the outset which profession to follow. Currently, those wishing to become a magistrate take a single public competition, valid for both positions, and after passing it, can decide whether to become a public prosecutor or a judge. There are currently significant overlaps between the two spheres, with the vast majority of both judges and prosecutors belonging to the ANM. Prosecutors and judges can also decide to switch between the two positions, but can only do so once and within the first nine years of their career. The reform aims to force an early and permanent choice, theoretically ensuring that judges remain entirely neutral arbiters rather than former colleagues of the prosecution. The government asserts that this is intended to strenghten the impartiality of judges by separating their career path from that of prosecutors, arguing that this will prevent conflicts of interest and reduce the risk of alleged political factions within the judiciary. Right-wing parties are in favour of the reform, claiming it would allow judges to have specific skills without being influenced by previous prosecutorial experience or by frequenting the same circles as prosecutors. The separation of judicial careers would represent a significant change to the justice system, which has been debated by successive governments for decades. The reform aims to redefine the internal judiciary structure by creating distinct professional paths for judges and public prosecutors, who are currently part of a single body of magistrates. The proposed changes would also replace the current single judiciary council which oversees appointments, careers and disciplinary actions, with two distinct councils - one for judges and one for prosecutors - while a new, separate high disciplinary court would be established to handle sanctions against magistrates. Meloni, who has been busy campaigning for a Yes vote in recent days, has long been at odds with Italy’s judiciary, regularly accusing magistrates of stymying plans by her government, from immigration to public works. In recent days she has stepped up her attacks on the judiciary - perhaps in response to polls suggesting that the No side were winning in the lead-up to the referendum - referring to alleged left-wing "factions" among their ranks and hitting out at "surreal" rulings, including in the so-called . Meloni has hailed the reform as "an important step towards a more efficient, balanced and citizen-orientated system". She insists that "no one is thinking of getting rid of the judiciary" and has vowed not to resign if the No side wins. "If justice is slow and stalled, we all pay the consequences; the decisions of magistrates impact so many aspects of our lives" - Meloni said at an event in Milan on Thursday - "The power of magistrates is enormous, and it's the only one that doesn't come with adequate accountability, because if a magistrate makes a mistake, they face no consequences; in fact, they often advance in their careers." Meloni claimed the reform addresses "the root causes of the malfunctioning of the justice system, not because we want to undermine the separation of legislative and judicial power". "If the reform doesn't pass this time, we'll most likely never get another chance," Meloni concluded, "and we'll find ourselves with even more powerful factions, even more negligent judges who advance their careers, and even more surreal decisions" including "illegal immigrants, rapists, paedophiles, drug dealers released from prison". Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left opposition Partito Democratico (PD) party, took aim at the reform and Meloni's rightwing coalition during a campaign speech for a No vote in Venice on Thursday. Schlein said the reform is being sought by "a government that even begins to tell judges which charges they should prosecute, [a government] which evidently wants to decide which crimes should be prosecuted, and which ones perhaps a little less so." Polls will be open on Sunday March 22 from 07.00 to 23.00, and on Monday 23 March from 07.00 to 15.00.