Italian Perspectives on the Judiciary

This article deals with the problems concerning the independence of the judiciary in Italy. First of all, it analyzes the historical causes that characterize the current Italian situation: the condition of the judges during the fascist dictatorship and the resulting reasons why the founding fathers of the Republic did not trust the judiciary. Then, this paper seeks to explain the different problems that, even today, undermine the independence of judiciary - the practice of judges standing political office, the progressive politicization of the High Council of the Judiciary, the judicial intervention in economic matters and the trend of judges making public statements to matters under judicial scrutiny - and explores the effectiveness of the current guarantees that are given to judges to secure their independence.