Judiciary of Italy

The judiciary of Italy is composed of courts and public prosecutor offices responsible for the administration of justice in the Italian Republic. Both bench judges and public prosecutor belong to the magistracy, that is to say a public office only accessible to Italian citizens who hold an Italian Juris Doctor and have successfully partaken in one of the relevant competitive public examinations organised by the Ministry of justice. The magistracy embodies the judicial power, one of the three independent powers of the State in which no hierarchy exists.

In particular, the Italian judiciary is independent from the executive branch, since the latter cannot interfere with the appointment, career advancement and the prerogatives of magistrates.^[1] Once an individual joins the magistracy, they are eligible to serve until the mandatory retirement age is met.

The structure of the Italian judiciary is divided into the ordinary judicial circuit and the special judicial circuit. The ordinary judicial circuit handles civil and criminal matters. In this circuit, inferior courts have original and general jurisdiction over civil and criminal disputes, while appellate courts review cases on appeal from these lower courts, focusing primarily on the application of legal principles. On top of the ordinary circuit, the Corte suprema di cassazione sits as supreme court.

The specialised judicial circuit comprises courts with jurisdiction over administrative, tax and audit matters. The Consiglio di Stato and the Corte dei conti are the supreme courts for administrative and audit matters respectively.

^ "Autonomia ed indipendenza della magistratura" (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved 24 March 2022.

[1] "Autonomia ed indipendenza della magistratura" (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved 24 March 2022.

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