“The acquittal sentences of Renzi and Salvini are proof, if any were needed considering the daily outcomes of trials in all Italian courts, that judges' decisions are not influenced by shared careers with prosecutors”. Thus the magistrate Gaetano Bono, replaced prosecutor general in Caltanissetta. “A good Christmas wish would lead me to hope that these decisions would induce the legislator to review the structure of the reform on the separation of careers which, in its current formulation under discussion in the Chamber, would not resolve any problem of justice, least of all the alleged lack of impartiality of the judge. Unfortunately, however – continues Prosecutor Bono – who in the book “Better separated” published by Le Lettere, has indicated what, in his opinion, would be the essential conditions to be able to achieve a separation of careers that respects the independence of the judiciary, as well as useful for an improvement of the judicial system – it is a vain hope, given that so far the legislator has proven indifferent to critical findings, especially coming from the judiciary, continuing on a path that will lead to a reform that is not only useless, but harmful as it will weaken the action of the prosecuting and judging judiciary and will alter the balance between the powers of the State in favor of the executive one, without even bringing any benefit in terms of efficiency of investigations, defense guarantees, duration of trials and ascertainment of the truth procedural”.
“Yet there would be a way to achieve these results, but it would be necessary to intervene not only and not so much on the separation of careers, which from this perspective would become a mere piece of a much more complete and general reform intervention, but rather on the modernization of the criminal system – substantive and procedural – which should lead to fewer crimes and fewer trials, to greater professional specialization of magistrates, to a better explanation of the role of the defense of defendants and civil parties, to the revision of the judicial geography with the closure of the courts and small prosecutors' offices, the speeding up of judgements, etc. However, it would be essential for such a reform to take place while preserving all the guarantees of autonomy and independence that the founding fathers decided to ensure for the judiciary and which do not serve to protect the magistrates, but the judicial function and therefore people's rights”.
