High Council of the Judiciary (Italy)

Primarily envisioned as a consultative body, the Council was tasked with significant administrative responsibilities, notably in appointing key personnel within the judiciary.

Ostensibly established to administer the judiciary on behalf of the King of Italy, the arrangement of the Council's members indicated a clear dependency on the government.

The High Council is a self-governing institution in order to insure the autonomy and independence of the judiciary from the other branches of the state, particularly the executive, according to the principle of the separation of powers expressed in the Italian Constitution.

These include the "functions of representation of the judicial power in interactions with other powers",[4] like, for example, making proposals to the Minister of Justice on matters under his or her control, giving opinions on the drafting of laws relating to the judiciary[5] and generally pronouncing its opinion on any matter relating to the functioning of the judiciary.

Article 110 of the Constitution assigns the task of "the organisation and the running of services relating to the judiciary" to the Ministry of Justice, notwithstanding the powers of the High Council.

This means that the transfer may not have been requested by the judge (although they may have indicated their agreement or availability) and that the Council determines the disposition of magistrates in disadvantaged locations.

The judicial offices considered to be "disadvantaged" are those of Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and Sardinia, where there has been a failure to fill the places available by examination, more than 50% of staff positions are unfilled, there is a high crime rate (especially related to organised crime), and a high rate of civil cases for the district's size and the number of staff.

There have been political attempts to limit the Council's ability to make regulations, such as the constitutional reform proposals of Massimo D'Alema (which were never approved).

Thus the Council has been accused by some politicians[7] of playing a role which the constitution does not give it, extending its powers in order to conflict with those of Parliament and the Government.

The elections of lay members is conceived as a check and balance mechanism, thereby ensuring that the judiciary abides by the best interests of the Italian people.

Lay members cannot combine the functions of national or regional political representative with councilorship to High Council of the Judiciary.