From the drawing of the CSM to the unappealable rulings in the Court of Cassation: the guide to the constitutional reform of justice

A judiciary divided into two distinct careers, two Superior Councils presided over by the Head of State whose members are drawn by lot, and a new High Disciplinary Court autonomous from both. These are the pillars of the constitutional reform of justice approved in the third reading in the Chamber — and now entrusted to the popular vote. Here’s what it entails in detail.

One judiciary, two careers. Article 104 of the Constitution currently states that "the judiciary constitutes an autonomous and independent order from any other power." The reform adds that it "is composed of judges from the judicial career and prosecutors from the prosecutorial career": the separation between judges and public prosecutors thus enters the fundamental Charter, elevating it from legislative choice to constitutional principle.

Two CSM instead of one. The current Superior Council of the Judiciary is replaced by two distinct bodies: one for the judicial magistracy, one for the prosecutorial magistracy. Both are presided over by the President of the Republic. The First President and the Attorney General of the Court of Cassation are ex officio members, respectively.

Members drawn by lot. The two new CSMs will not be elective. Each will be composed of one-third lay members — drawn by lot from a list of jurists compiled by Parliament in joint session — and two-thirds from magistrates, also selected by lot among those who meet the requirements established by a subsequent ordinary law. The term lasts four years, non-renewable.

What remains for the two CSMs. The new Councils lose disciplinary powers, currently entrusted to a special section of the existing CSM. They will instead maintain competencies on hiring, assignments, transfers, professional evaluations, and the granting of functions to magistrates of their respective careers.

The High Disciplinary Court is established. The disciplinary function over all magistrates passes to a new autonomous body, composed of fifteen members: three appointed by the President of the Republic, three drawn by lot from a parliamentary list of jurists, six drawn from judges with at least twenty years of activity and experience in the Court of Cassation, and three drawn from prosecutors with the same requirements. The judges are thus the majority, but the presidency goes to a lay member. Again: a term of four years, non-renewable.

Non-appealable rulings in the Court of Cassation. The decisions of the High Court can only be appealed before the same Court, in the second degree and with a different composition. An appeal to the Court of Cassation will not be allowed, in derogation of what is provided by Article 111 of the Constitution. An ordinary law will define in detail the offenses, sanctions, procedures, and composition of the panels.

The implementing laws. The last article of the reform sets a one-year period from the entry into force — that is, from the referendum vote — to enact the implementing regulations. In the meantime, existing laws remain in force.