JusticeItaly

AbandonedThe Central Office for the Referendum at the Court of Cassation found, in a record closed on 17 April 2026, that the result was not favourable to the approval of the text; the Ministry of Justice published this finding in the Gazzetta Ufficiale of 18 May 2026. The Constitution is unchanged.

Constitutional reform separating the careers of judges and prosecutors, rejected by referendum

The constitutional bill tabled by Giorgia Meloni and Carlo Nordio split the ordinary judiciary into two careers, judges and prosecutors, each with its own High Council of the Judiciary whose members would be drawn by lot, and moved disciplinary jurisdiction to a new High Disciplinary Court. Parliament adopted it in second deliberation on 30 October 2025 by an absolute majority but below two thirds, which opened the way to a confirmatory referendum. At the vote of 22-23 March 2026 the result was not favourable to the text, which therefore never entered into force.

Updated: November 5, 2026

At a glance

Reference text

Testo di legge costituzionale recante « Norme in materia di ordinamento giurisdizionale e di istituzione della Corte disciplinare » (Constitutional law text on the judicial system and the establishment of the Disciplinary Court — published for a possible referendum, never promulgated)[1]

No. GU n. 253 del 30-10-2025 (25A05968) · October 30, 2025

Read the text ↗

Carried by

  • Giorgia Meloni[2][4]President of the Council of Ministers — co-author of the government bill · 2024-2026 · Initiator
  • Carlo Nordio[2][4]Minister of Justice — co-author of the government bill · 2024-2026 · Initiator

Implementation

Status

Abandoned

since March 23, 2026[9][10]

The Central Office for the Referendum at the Court of Cassation found, in a record closed on 17 April 2026, that the result was not favourable to the approval of the text; the Ministry of Justice published this finding in the Gazzetta Ufficiale of 18 May 2026. The Constitution is unchanged.

Stated objective

Give constitutional form to the separation of the careers of judges and prosecutors, in line with the fair-trial principles of article 111 of the Constitution and the accusatory model of criminal procedure, while keeping both careers within one autonomous and independent order; replace the election of council members by drawing lots, to move away from « electoral competition » logics within self-government; and entrust discipline to a separate court.[4]

according to the explanatory report of the government bill (Meloni, Nordio), 13 June 2024

Main measures

  • The judiciary remains « an autonomous order independent of any other power », but is made up of magistrates of the judging career and of the prosecuting career; the laws on the judicial system govern the two distinct careers (articles 102 and 104).[1]
  • Two High Councils replace the single CSM — one for judges, one for prosecutors — both chaired by the President of the Republic; the first president and the prosecutor general of the Court of Cassation sit ex officio in their respective council. Each council handles recruitment, assignments, transfers, professional assessments and appointments for its own magistrates (articles 87, 104 and 105).[1]
  • Council members are no longer elected but drawn by lot: one third from a list of law professors and lawyers with at least fifteen years of practice, elected by Parliament in joint session within six months of its installation; two thirds among judges and among prosecutors respectively, in numbers and under procedures set by law. Members drawn by lot serve four years and cannot take part in the next draw; each council elects its vice-president among the members drawn from Parliament’s list.[1]
  • Disciplinary jurisdiction over judges and prosecutors moves from the CSM to a High Disciplinary Court of fifteen judges: three appointed by the President of the Republic and three drawn by lot from a list elected by Parliament (law professors and lawyers with twenty years of practice), six judges and three prosecutors drawn by lot among magistrates with twenty years of service who hold or have held functions at the Court of Cassation. Four-year non-renewable term; its president is chosen among the lay members; appeals, including on the merits, go only to the same Court sitting without the judges who ruled at first instance (article 105).[1]
  • Prosecutors with at least fifteen years of service are added to those who may be appointed councillors of the Court of Cassation on designation by the judges’ council (article 106, third paragraph).[1]
  • Transitional provision: the laws on the councils, the judicial system and disciplinary jurisdiction were to be brought into line within one year of the constitutional law’s entry into force, existing rules applying in the meantime (article 8). This deadline never started, the text having been rejected.[1][9]

In data

Final votes of the Chamber of Deputies on the reform[2][3]

2025, number of deputies

Final votes of the Chamber of Deputies on the reform — chart values
DeliberationForAgainstAbstained
First deliberation, 16 January 2025174925
Second deliberation, 18 September 2025 (Required majority: 201, the absolute majority of the Chamber’s members.)2431096

Scale starts at 0 · The Senate’s votes are not shown: its records could not be consulted for this sheet.

Key figures

Judges of the planned High Disciplinary Court

15

text adopted by Parliament, 2025 · Observed

according to the constitutional law text published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale[1]

Nine of the fifteen would have been magistrates drawn by lot (six judges, three prosecutors).

Term of the members drawn by lot to the two councils

4 years

text adopted by Parliament, 2025 · Observed

according to the constitutional law text published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale[1]

Not renewable through the next draw.

Trust in the justice system

42.5%

2023

OECDSee the card →

Timeline

  1. Announced

    Government constitutional bill tabled in the Chamber of Deputies (C. 1917)[2][4]

  2. Under debate

    Examination opens in the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Chamber[2][5]

    Article 138 of the Constitution requires two successive deliberations by each chamber, at least three months apart.

  3. Hearings in the Chamber’s Constitutional Affairs Committee, including the president of the National Association of Magistrates (ANM)[2]

    Giuseppe Santalucia, president of the ANM, was heard alongside law professors and senior magistrates of the Court of Cassation.

  4. First deliberation of the Chamber of Deputies[2]

    174 votes for, 92 against, 5 abstentions (271 present, 266 voting).

  5. First deliberation of the Senate, in the text adopted by the Chamber[5][3]

    The text was never amended: the Senate adopted it unchanged, as the Chamber had adopted the government bill unchanged.

  6. Second deliberation of the Chamber of Deputies, by an absolute majority of its members[3][5]

    243 votes for, 109 against, 6 abstentions; required majority 201. No amendments or motions are admissible at this stage.

  7. Adopted

    Final parliamentary adoption: second deliberation of the Senate, text published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale[1][5]

    Approved by an absolute majority but below two thirds of the members of each chamber: the text could be submitted to a confirmatory referendum if requested within three months.

  8. Second deliberation of the Senate and publication of the text in the Gazzetta Ufficiale[1]

    Published « for information » under Act no. 352 of 1970: within three months, one fifth of the members of a chamber, 500,000 voters or five regional councils could request a referendum.

  9. The Court of Cassation’s Central Office for the Referendum declares the referendum request lawful and admissible[7]

  10. Presidential decree calling the referendum for 22 and 23 March 2026[7]

    Decree of President Sergio Mattarella, on a proposal of the President of the Council, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale of 14 January 2026.

  11. The Court of Cassation admits a second request and rewords the referendum question[8]

    A request filed on 28 January 2026 was declared lawful and admissible; the reworded question lists the amended articles (87, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107 and 110 of the Constitution). A presidential decree of 7 February 2026 adopted it, keeping the dates of 22 and 23 March.

  12. Confirmatory referendum[10][7]

    Polling took place in 61,533 polling stations in Italy; votes from Italians abroad were counted in 2,066 polling stations set up at five courts of appeal.

  13. Abandoned

    Rejected by the confirmatory referendum of 22-23 March 2026[9][10]

    The Central Office for the Referendum at the Court of Cassation found, in a record closed on 17 April 2026, that the result was not favourable to the approval of the text; the Ministry of Justice published this finding in the Gazzetta Ufficiale of 18 May 2026. The Constitution is unchanged.

  14. Official finding: the result is not favourable to the approval of the text[9]

    Record of the Central Office for the Referendum at the Court of Cassation, under article 24 of Act no. 352 of 1970, published by the Ministry of Justice in the Gazzetta Ufficiale of 18 May 2026.

The debate

Citoyen takes no position: arguments are reported as their authors put them.

According to its supporters

  • The government presents the separation as following from the fair-trial principles of article 111 of the Constitution and from the shift of Italian criminal procedure to the accusatory model, while stating that prosecutors remain part of the autonomous and independent order and are not brought under the control or influence of other powers.[4]
  • Drawing lots for council members is meant, according to the government, to overcome « electoral competition » logics that « have not proved themselves » and have weakened the reliability of self-government inside and outside the judiciary.[4]
  • For the majority groups (Fratelli d’Italia, Forza Italia, Lega) at the final vote of 18 September 2025, those who judge « must be and must appear » third and impartial; they deny any battle against magistrates and invoke the 1989 accusatory code of criminal procedure.[6]

According to its opponents

  • For the Democratic Party (Elly Schlein, 18 September 2025), the text contains « no real reforming intent », only the wish to strike at the independence of the judiciary, and addresses none of the justice system’s problems: staff shortages, backlogs, length of proceedings, prison overcrowding.[6]
  • For the Five Star Movement (Patty L’Abbate, 18 September 2025), a prosecution service with its own council would be more exposed to political pressure and could in practice become subordinate to the executive, while existing rules already restrict moves between prosecuting and judging functions.[6]
  • Italia Viva, which supports separating careers, abstained (Maria Elena Boschi, 18 September 2025): not a single amendment or motion was accepted at any reading, and the text as written would make prosecutors « even more politicised ».[6]

Indicators to watch

  • Trust in courts and the legal system · OCDESee the card →
  • Professional judges per 100,000 inhabitants · Eurostatno Citoyen card yet

Sources

  1. [1]Testo di legge costituzionale approvato in seconda votazione a maggioranza assoluta, ma inferiore ai due terzi dei membri di ciascuna Camera, recante: «Norme in materia di ordinamento giurisdizionale e di istituzione della Corte disciplinare» (25A05968), Gazzetta Ufficiale, Serie generale n. 253 — Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica italiana, October 30, 2025
  2. [2]Atto Camera 1917 — Disegno di legge costituzionale « Norme in materia di ordinamento giurisdizionale e di istituzione della Corte disciplinare » : scheda del progetto di legge (iter, votazione finale) — Camera dei deputati
  3. [3]Atto Camera 1917-B — seconda deliberazione : scheda del progetto di legge (iter, votazione finale) — Camera dei deputati
  4. [4]Disegno di legge costituzionale n. 1917 presentato dal Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri (Meloni) e dal Ministro della giustizia (Nordio), con relazione — Camera dei deputati, June 13, 2024
  5. [5]Norme in materia di ordinamento giurisdizionale e di istituzione della Corte disciplinare — scheda del Servizio Studi — Camera dei deputati, Servizio Studi, January 15, 2026
  6. [6]Resoconto stenografico della seduta n. 531 — dichiarazioni di voto finale sull’A.C. 1917-B — Camera dei deputati, September 18, 2025
  7. [7]Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica 13 gennaio 2026 — Indizione del referendum popolare confermativo (26A00167), Gazzetta Ufficiale, Serie generale n. 10 — Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica italiana, January 14, 2026
  8. [8]Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica 7 febbraio 2026 — Precisazione del quesito del referendum popolare confermativo (26A00663), Gazzetta Ufficiale, Serie generale n. 31 — Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica italiana, February 7, 2026
  9. [9]Ministero della giustizia — Comunicato concernente il referendum popolare confermativo della legge costituzionale recante norme in materia di ordinamento giurisdizionale e di istituzione della Corte disciplinare (26A02490), Gazzetta Ufficiale, Serie generale n. 113 — Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica italiana, May 18, 2026
  10. [10]Referendum costituzionale, concluse le operazioni di scrutinio del voto — Ministero dell’Interno, March 23, 2026