26 January 2008

The Minister of Justice’s appointments

I have sent a letter to Prime Minister and Justice Minister Romano Prodi, expressing my concerns regarding Benvenuto’s recent appointment by the Management Committee of the School of the Magistrature. Appointments made by former Justice Minister Mastella as one of the last few acts in office.

I now publish the text of the letter:

"A number of issues that have emerged recently with regard to the Justice Minister’s activities have raised some serious concerns.
I am referring to the delicate appointments of the members of the Management Committee of the School of the Magistrature, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Justice Minister.
Already in the past, while discussing the amendments to the institutional regulations governing the school, I repeatedly raised the alarm – which went unheard – regarding the risks concealed behind the regulatory amendments so tenaciously supported by the Justice Minister at the time, and highlighted the risk of potentially influencing the autonomy of the Judiciary. When even the training institution charged with developing the future generation of magistrates and updating the entire profession is not only unexpectedly based within the very same electoral college preferred by the Minister of Justice in power, but sees its Management committee dominated, in terms of numbers, by members appointed directly by the very same Minister, it becomes clearly evident, beyond any doubt, that there is a certain manipulation of intangible constitutional precepts at play."


Read the full text

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Justice