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, which is independent from other powers and is not arranged hierarchically.

The Italian judiciary notably operates independently from the executive branch, the latter being prohibited to interfere with the appointment, career advancement and the prerogatives of magistrates.^[1] Once an individual joins the magistracy, they are eligible to serve until they reach the mandatory retirement age. Any disciplinary actions against a magistrate can only be imposed by the self-governing body of the circuit to which they belong.

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.

The specialised judicial circuit comprises courts with jurisdiction over administrative, tax and audit matters.

^ "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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