What is the story of the report cards sent to judges and prosecutors?

Green light from the Council of Ministers for the “report card” for judges and prosecutors. On the evening of Monday, November 27, the government approved two implementing decrees envisaged by the Cartabia reform; The first of these is about the discipline of entering the judiciary and, in fact, the evaluations regarding the professionalism of the robes, while the second is about the discipline of entering the judiciary. Tightening the legislation on the dismissal of ordinary, administrative and accounting judges. However, the measure to introduce psycho-sufficiency testing upon entering the judiciary was not approved.

But let’s move on to the so-called “report cards” for evaluating judges. Today, there is already a form of trial for magistrates, but this is a random evaluation. This gives positive results in almost all cases (over 99%). Therefore, the evaluation criteria need to be reviewed. According to the provision we read in the government note, “it is carried out by reorganizing the criteria for the appointment of managerial and semi-managerial positions according to the principles of transparency and evaluation of merit, as well as by defining the concepts of merit and merit.” ability in accordance with the autonomy of the Supreme Judicial Council”.

How will judges be tried?

According to the Dire agency (there is no official and definitive text) magistrates may be subject to double evaluation: the first decision will be announced by the Judicial Council (an independent body of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary established in each court). appeal), while the CSM itself will cast the final vote. If the judge or magistrate’s assessment is positive, he/she will be eligible for a career change; Otherwise, if the evaluation is negative, the magistrate will re-evaluate the following year.

If the second assessment is also negative for the magistrate, various consequences may occur: from the obligation to attend a professional retraining course to reassignment or dismissal from administrative positions. As the Dire agency also noted, the exam is repeated after two years and the right to periodic salary increases is lost. If the CSM confirms failure a second time, the prosecutor or judge may be dismissed.

At least according to the draft in circulation, the evaluation criteria should be different: diligence and punctuality in the office, productivity, as well as mastery of argumentation and investigative techniques. Another innovation connected with the evaluation of robes is the introduction of the ‘magistrate dossier’, which will contain the results of investigations or hearings, the minutes of the hearing, as well as any statistical information that may allow the evaluation of the magistrate himself.

Santalucia (Anm): “Report cards are an unfortunate term, we are treated like school children”

The opinion expressed by Giuseppe Santalucia, president of the National Association of Magistrates, was negative. “Report cards are an unfortunate term to describe judges’ assessments of professionalism, as if we were students in a school,” Santalucia told Sky Tg 24.

“These are the practices of a delegation that we strongly criticize,” the ANO president recalled. “Aside from the language used, what worried us was the professionalism evaluations, not that we didn’t want to be evaluated, we always have been, we wanted a more effective and efficient system, while a cumbersome system was created that would slow things down.” to denigrate and undermine review periodicals”.

According to the leader of the M5s, Giuseppe Conte, “it is very difficult to measure the quality of the work of judges, because we have to measure the quality of sentences, and we cannot build a complex, complex system that forces judges to comply with full compliance. A degree of precedent punishment means protection of the citizen. Therefore, judges “We also leave them free to review decisions already formulated by our colleagues at previous levels.” In short, there is no definite good coming from 5 Stars.

Mulè: “Evaluations are always positive, stricter criteria need to be introduced”

Giorgio Mulè, deputy head of the department and Forza Italia parliamentarian, describes the introduction of “report cards” instead as an “important” measure because “between 2017 and 2021, 7,394 magistrates were assessed and 99.2% of them passed, only 7 plus 17 others received less than perfect marks” and “it is therefore clear that a more stringent evaluation criterion should be introduced”.

“The provision for psycho-aptitude tests for judges has not yet been introduced,” Mulè added, because the government’s enabling law did not allow it, but it is something that needs to be done. Because if a judge decides to perform a psychiatric evaluation on someone in a criminal or civil case, it is not clear why it cannot be done on them as well, and repeatedly over time, to verify their ability to calmly administer justice”.

“They too -” the blue parliamentarian concluded – and they, like all of us, may experience certain periods of discomfort, so a proper administration of justice should provide this tool, moreover, he added, as they already do in France and Germany, the fact that such tests are binding for career development “.

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