INTERNAL REGULATIONS
Internal Regulations approved with resolution of 26 September 2016 Table A updated with Decree of the Vice President of 13 October 2016
Table of Contents
PART ONE
ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONING
OF THE HIGH COUNCIL FOR THE JUDICIARY
TITLE I
General provisions
Art. 1 Installation of the Council ...1 Art. 2 Verification of the elections of the Council ...1 Art. 3 Election of the Vice President ...2 Art. 4 Election of the members of the Disciplinary Section.
Presidency of the Section ...2
TITLE II
Powers of the President, of the Vice President, of the
Presidential Committee and of the Members of the Council
Art. 5 Powers of the President and of the Vice President ...4 Art. 6 Temporary substitution of the Vice President in chairing
the Council’s sessions...4 Art. 7 Meetings of the Presidential Committee ...5 Art. 8 Powers of the Presidential Committee and review of its
resolutions...5 Art. 9 Following verification ensuing unexpected events ...6 Art. 10 Prerogatives of the members of the Council and order of
precedence. Office assistants ...7
TITLE III
Secretary General and Judges assigned to the Council
Art. 11 Secretary General...8
Art. 12 Judges assigned to the Secretariat. Appointment of judges assigned to the Secretariat and to the Studies and Documentation Office...9
Art. 13 Officials assigned to the Secretariat ... 11
TITLE IV Other permanent council bodies Art. 14 Studies and Documentation Office. Functions and activities ... 12
Art. 15 Studies and Documentation Office. Directorate ... 12
Art. 16 Library and Historical Archive Committee... 13
Art. 17 Equal Opportunities Committee ... 14
Art. 18 Organisational Technical Structure ... 15
Art. 19 Statistical Office ... 16
Art. 20 The Council’s Institutional Communication Office and Press Office ... 17
Art. 21 International Relations Office ... 17
TITLE V The Council’s activities Art. 22 The Council’s acts ... 19
Art. 23 Proposals and opinions (pursuant to Art. 10, paragraph 2 of Law 195/198)... 19
Art. 24 Resolutions ... 20
Art. 25 Circulars and directives. Criteria for drawing up council acts... 20
Art. 26 The Commissions’ resolutions ... 21
TITLE VI
Giving publicity to the works of the Council and of the Commissions
Art. 27 Giving publicity to the sessions of the Council ... 22
Art. 28 Report on the works of the Council. Communication on the session of the Plenary Assembly ... 22
Art. 29 Giving publicity to the sessions of the Commissions ... 23
Art. 30 Summary of works, minutes and brief report on the sessions of the Commissions ... 24
Art. 31 Examination of acts and files by the members of the Council ... 24
Art. 32 Reserved protocol ... 25
Art. 33 Issuing copies of acts ... 26
Art. 34 Obligation of secrecy... 28
Art. 35 Publication on the Council’s institutional website and regulations on communications with the Executive Council of the Court of Cassation and the Judicial Councils ... 29
PART TWO PROCEDURES TITLE VII Special procedures Art. 36 Procedure for interventions aimed at protecting the independence and prestige of judges and of judicial functions... 30
Art. 37 Procedure for assigning executive offices. Open vote for assigning executive and semi-executive offices... 31
Art. 38 Procedure for transfers and assignment of premises... 32
Art. 39 Procedure for enforced assignments and transfers... 33
Art. 40 Procedure for amending the Internal Regulations... 33
Art. 41 Session on the state of the activities of the High Council for the Judiciary. Annual Report ... 34
Art. 42 Procedure for environmental and functional incompatibilities, pursuant to Art. 2, paragraph 2, of R. Lgs.D. No. 511 of 31 May 1946 ... 35
Art. 43 Report on the state of the administration of justice... 36
Art. 44 Conversion of the resolution ... 36
TITLE VIII The Council’s resolutions, voting order and modalities Art. 45 Voting ... 37
Art. 46 Incidental questions ... 38
Art. 47 Modalities for voting proposals... 40
Art. 48 Proposability and admissibility of amendments, of agendas and of proposals examined by the Council... 41
Art. 49 Voting order of amendments ... 42
Art. 50 Communications to the persons involved in disciplinary actions... 43
TITLE IX Permanent and Special Commissions Art. 51 The Commissions’ establishment... 44
Art. 52 The Commissions’ powers ... 44
Art. 53 The Commissions’ term of office and their renewal... 45
Art. 54 The Commission for the Council’s Regulations ... 45
Art. 55 Assignment of cases to the Commissions ... 46
Art. 56 The Commissions’ electronic register... 48
Art. 57 The Commissions’ work plan... 49
Art. 58 The Commissions’ work programme ... 49
Art. 59 Weekly calendar ... 49
Art. 60 The Commissions’ agenda ... 50
Art. 61 The Commissions’ sessions... 50
Art. 62 Order of the cases to be examined... 51
Art. 63 Participation in the Commissions’ sessions ... 52
Art. 64 Preliminary tasks ... 52
Art. 65 Voting in Commissions ... 54
Art. 66 The Commissions’ resolutions ... 55
TITLE X The Council’s meetings Art. 67 The Council’s sessions, votes and programming of relevant activities ... 56
Art. 68 Assisting the President in the Council’s sessions ... 56
Art. 69 Giving publicity to the Council’s works ... 57
Art. 70 Preparation and structure of the Council’s agenda ... 58
Art. 71 Request for inclusion on the agenda and convocation ... 61
Art. 72 Criteria for examining the items on the agenda ... 61
TITLE XI Discussion Art. 73 Prohibition to discuss or vote items not included on the agenda ... 62
Art. 74 Personal issues ... 62
Art. 75 Prohibition to speak twice during the same discussion... 62
Art. 76 Prohibition to interrupt speeches and interventions ... 62
Art. 77 The Commissions’ reports... 63
Art. 78 Duration of interventions... 63
Art. 79 Presentation and examination of agendas ... 63
Art. 80 Discussion... 64
Art. 81 Examination of amendments and voting for separate parts of proposals to which amendments do not refer... 66
Art. 82 Next convocation ... 66
Art. 83 Implementation of the Council’s resolutions ... 67
TITLE XII
The Council’s relations with other national and international institutions
Art. 84 Protocols for exchanges between the Council’s members, secretary judges and personnel with other European and
international self-governing bodies ... 68
Art. 85 Connections with institutional bodies ... 68
Art. 86 Procedures for connections with the European Union and international bodies... 69
Art. 87 Examination of rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union, of the European Court of Human Rights and of other supranational jurisdictional bodies... 69
Art. 88 Activities for promoting a European and international juridical culture in Italian judges ... 70
TITLE XIII Final and temporary provisions Art. 89 Final provisions ... 71
Art. 90 Temporary provisions... 71
Table A) ... 73
Explanatory report ... 81
Analytical index ... 102
PART ONE
ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONING
OF THE HIGH COUNCIL FOR THE JUDICIARY
TITLE I
General provisions
Art. 1
Installation of the Council
1. The President of the High Council shall convene the Council for its installation session, which shall be held on the date established by the President under the latter’s chairmanship.
2. During the same session, the President shall set up a Commission composed of three members – a judge of the Court of Cassation, a merit-selected judge and a judge elected by the Parliament – appointing the related Chairman and setting the date of the next session on which the Commission shall report on the verification carried out concerning the election of the members of the Council.
3. The elective members shall acquire the prerogatives of their office and all the rights and duties inherent in their functions with the installation session, as long as the verification of their qualifications, carried out pursuant to Art. 2, results to be positive.
Art. 2
Verification of the elections of the Council
1. The Commission mentioned in Art. 1 shall report to the Council on the verification carried out concerning the qualifications of the members elected by judges, the eligibility of the members elected by the Parliament, possible incompatibilities to be removed pursuant to law, and possible petitions lodged with
reference to the operations carried out for the selection of the members elected by judges.
2. In any case, the proposals expressed by the Commission shall be subject to the Council’s resolution.
Art. 3
Election of the Vice President
1. Immediately after resolving on the verification mentioned in Art. 2, thus during the same session, the Council shall elect its Vice President. The latter’s election shall be by secret ballot choosing among the members elected by the Parliament.
2. Each member shall write a name on the ballot paper. The member receiving the absolute majority of votes shall be elected.
If, after the first round, no member reaches said majority, then a second round shall be organised immediately and, if necessary, a third one. The member who then receives the highest number of votes shall be declared elected. In the event of a tie in the third round, a second ballot shall be carried out between the members with the higher number of votes; the one receiving the most votes shall be declared elected. In the event of a tie even in the second ballot, the member elected shall be the oldest as to age.
Art. 4
Election of the members of the Disciplinary Section.
Presidency of the Section
1. Immediately after the election of the Vice President, the Council shall proceed with the election of six regular members and ten temporary substitute members for the Disciplinary Section, pursuant to Art. 4, paragraph 4, of Law No. 195 of 24 March 1958, and following amendments. The temporary substitute members shall be: a judge holding office at the Court of Cassation, exercising functions of legitimacy; three judges exercising the functions as mentioned under Art. 23, paragraph 2, letter b) of Law No. 195 of 24 March 1958, as amended with Art.
5 of Law No. 44 of 28 March 2002, and three judges exercising the functions as mentioned under Art. 23, paragraph 2, letter c) of Law No. 195 of 24 March 1958, as amended with Art. 5 of Law No. 44 of 28 March 2002; three members elected by the Parliament.
2. Should the Vice President and the member elected by the Parliament as the former’s substitute not be able, for any reason whatsoever, to chair the Disciplinary Section, the chairmanship shall be assumed by the temporary substitute member elected by the Parliament resulting to be the most senior as to the date of election; in the case of members with the same date of election, the one selected shall be the member with the most votes; in the event of an equality of votes, the member selected shall be the oldest as to age.
3. The President of the Section, with personal decree, shall define the objective and pre-established criteria for identifying temporary substitute members, should the regular members be absent or impeded to attend for any reason whatsoever, also due to the latter’s engagement in carrying out other functions within the Council. The decree and its possible subsequent variations shall be communicated to the Council for recognition.
TITLE II
Powers of the President, of the Vice President, of the Presidential Committee and of the Members of the Council
Art. 5
Powers of the President and of the Vice President
1. The President shall convene and chair the sessions of the Council and exercise all other functions provided for by law and by these Regulations.
2. The Vice President shall replace the President in case of the latter’s absence or impediment to attend. In compliance with the decisional competence of the Council, the Vice President shall exercise all the functions provided for by law and by these Regulations, as well as the functions delegated to the same by the President, including the possibility to convene sessions.
Art. 6
Temporary substitution of the Vice President in chairing the Council’s sessions
1. Should the Vice President temporarily leave a Council’s session in which the President is not present and deem that the session must continue, this shall be chaired by the member elected by the Parliament resulting to be the most senior as to the date of election; in case of members with the same date of election, the one selected shall be the member with the most votes; in the event of an equality of votes, the member selected shall be the oldest as to age.
2. The mentioned member shall assume the chairmanship even at the beginning of the session in case of absence or impediment to attend of the President or Vice President, as long as the latter two communicated the situation to the Council’s secretariat after convening the session.
Art. 7
Meetings of the Presidential Committee
1. The resolutions of the Presidential Committee shall be valid in the presence of the Vice President and of at least one member. Should its convening be impossible, the Vice President shall attend to the matters of ordinary administration, having heard the two judges appointed as Presidents of the permanent Commissions, in order of seniority as to role.
2. The minutes of the meetings of the Presidential Committee shall be provided to the members of the Council every week. In any case, the Vice President shall duly inform the Council of the most relevant decisions, communicating them in the next session. Each member shall have the right, within five days from the issuing of the relevant minutes, to ask the Presidential Committee to provide a reasoned statement on one or more of its resolutions.
3. One or more Presidents of the Commissions or, in particular cases, one or more members of the Council, may request to be present at the meetings of the Presidential Committee, without taking part in the resolutions, with the aim to examine specific cases. To this end, the agenda of the Presidential Committee shall be communicated to the members of the Council, unless an urgent resolution is necessary.
4. The Vice President shall regulate the functions of the secretariat, in compliance with the resolutions of the Presidential Committee.
Art. 8
Powers of the Presidential Committee and review of its resolutions
1. The Presidential Committee shall promote the Council’s activities and give implementation to the relevant decisions, managing expenses pursuant to Art. 9 of Law No. 195 of 24 March 1958.
2. The Presidential Committee shall exercise its functions in compliance with the competence of the Commissions and of the Council.
3. The resolutions of the Presidential Committee shall be adopted promptly and however within one month from the beginning of the examination of each request, petition, report or complaint. Within ten days from the communication mentioned in Art. 7, paragraph 2, at least one fourth of the elective members may ask the Presidential Committee’s review of one or more resolutions. The Committee shall resolve on said request with a reasoned order.
Art. 9
Following verification ensuing unexpected events
1. After the verification carried out pursuant to Art. 2, should it be necessary to replace members of the Council no longer present for any reason whatsoever, the Council shall carry out a following verification, and related proclamation, in the case of a member elected by judges, on the basis of the Commission’s report as provided for by Art. 1, paragraph 2. Analogously, the Council shall intervene should incompatibilities arise as provided for and regulated by Art. 33 of Law No. 195 of 24 March 1958, as well as Art. 29 of Presidential Decree No. 916 of 16 September 1958.
2. In the cases provided for by Art. 37 of Law No. 195 of 24 March 1958, as substituted by Art. 6 of Law No. 1 of 3 January 1981, the Council shall resolve on the suspension or forfeiture declaratory judgment on the basis of the Presidential Committee’s report.
Art. 10
Prerogatives of the members of the Council and order of precedence.
Office assistants
1. Members shall participate in the works and resolutions of the Council and of the Commissions under equal conditions.
2. In official events, after the President, the order of precedence shall be the following: the Vice President, the First President of the Court of Cassation, the Prosecutor General at the same Court and then all the other members in order of age.
3. The provisions of this article shall be valid also with reference to the list of members of the Council indicated in acts, to the session of the Council and to any circumstance in which an order of precedence is observed.
4. Each member of the Council may be assisted, pursuant to Art. 3 of Lgs.D No. 37 of 14 February 2000, within the numerical limit set by said provision, by an office assistant who must not be a judge, but chosen among those qualified to exercise the profession of lawyer, that is among law graduates qualified as doctors in law or holding a specialised diploma for legal professions. This legal status is governed by the Administration and Accounting Regulations, which also lay down all other requirements for the appointment to the office. Said regulations provide for the Councillor to alternate the assignment of fiduciary personnel with secretariat tasks not falling within the Council’s role. The task of office assistant may also be entrusted to State administration employees in possession of the same requirements listed above, in compliance with the conditions provided for by Art. 3, paragraph 4, of Lgs.D. No. 37 of 2000, and by the implementation of the relevant council resolutions.
5. The appointment to the office mentioned in paragraph 4 may also be entrusted to the Council’s regular staff in possession of the same requirements, in compliance with the forms and conditions provided for by the Regulations governing the personnel.
TITLE III
Secretary General and Judges assigned to the Council
Art. 11
Secretary General
1. Pursuant to Art. 7 of Law No. 195 of 24 March 1958, the judge at the head of the Secretariat shall exercise the functions of Secretary General whose powers shall be as follows:
a) to assist the Vice President and the Presidential Committee in organising and carrying out works related to the organisation and functioning of the Council;
b) to attend, within the scope of the relevant functions, to the relationships with the General Secretariats of the Presidency of the Republic, of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate of the Republic, of the Constitutional Court, as well as with the analogous offices of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, of the other bodies of constitutional relevance and of the public administration;
c) to open files that enable the Presidential Committee to adopt measures pertaining to the administration of the Council;
d) to be present at the meetings of the Presidential Committee and write the relevant minutes; to file acts; to attend to the preparatory fulfilments of the meetings and to the implementation of the resolutions adopted;
e) to coordinate the activity of the judges assigned to the secretariat;
f) to assure the good functioning of services and offices and to supervise the personnel assigned to the Council;
g) to fulfil all other tasks provided for by the Council’s regulations or assigned by the Vice President, by the Presidential Committee or by the Council.
2. In carrying out the aforementioned tasks, the Secretary General shall be supported by a specially set up secretariat. In case of impediment, the Secretary General shall be assisted and replaced by a judge selected by merit, who shall be appointed as Deputy Secretary General. The Secretary General, upon prior
communication to the Presidential Committee, may delegate the Deputy Secretary General to carry out specific acts or attend to procedures or activities falling within the relevant powers, without prejudice to those of management and coordination; said delegation may be revoked with the same modalities through which it is assigned. After issuing delegation or revocation orders, the Presidential Committee shall communicate said orders to the Council.
3. The Council shall resolve on the appointment of the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General, following a notice communicated to all the judges in service, on proposal of the Presidential Committee in agreement with the Third Commission, after the latter has interviewed the candidates.
4. The appointments as Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General shall be subject to confirmation three years after the appointment, if this occurred during the previous term as to the one in which the term expires and as long as at least one year has passed from the beginning of the Council’s new term.
Art. 12
Judges assigned to the Secretariat.
Appointment of judges assigned to the Secretariat and to the Studies and Documentation Office
1. Pursuant to Art. 7 of Law No. 195 of 24 March 1958, judges assigned to the secretariat shall exercise the functions listed below, according to the various sectors of competence established by the Presidential Committee and by the Secretary General:
a) they shall collaborate with the Secretary General in assuring the good functioning of the Commissions’ secretariats and of the other sectors of the council structures assigned to them;
they shall supervise relevant activities and organisation, and attend to the implementation of the directives issued by the Presidential Committee and the Secretary General;
b) they shall collaborate with the President of the Commission to which they have been assigned; they shall assist
the President in organising activities and carrying out works; and they shall attend to the implementation of the President’s directives;
c) they shall attend to the preparation of the single cases according to the directives established by the President of the Commission or the rapporteurs, searching for documents, precedents as well as council, doctrinal and jurisprudential contributions functional for addressing cases; they shall also attend to the accomplishment of all necessary preliminary activities;
d) they shall be present at the sessions of the Commission;
at the rapporteurs’ request, they shall prepare all which is necessary for drawing up the motivations and reports accompanying the proposals to be submitted to the Council; on the order of the President of the Commission, they shall attend to the writing of minutes, when this is not possible pursuant to Art.
13, letter b);
e) they shall be present at the sessions of the Council and of the Disciplinary Section, supervising the drawing up of the minutes by the officials and the report by the rapporteurs;
f) they shall summarise precedents, if requested by the Vice President, by the Presidential Committee or by the Presidents of the Commissions; they shall research material of council interest, also in collaboration with the Studies and Documentation Office, when the latter is not required to prepare reports or opinions; if assigned to the Disciplinary Section, they shall summarise decisions;
g) they shall exercise all other functions established by law and by the Presidential Committee.
2. The Council shall resolve on the appointment of judges assigned to the secretariat and to the Studies and Documentation Office, following a notice communicated to all the judges in service, on proposal of the Third Commission in agreement with the Presidential Committee, after the former has interviewed the candidates.
Art. 13
Officials assigned to the Secretariat
1. The officials assigned to the Secretariat of the High Council for the Judiciary shall be appointed for the following purposes:
a) to be in charge of the Secretariats of the Commissions, of administrative offices or of services of the council structure, on the basis of the directives of the Presidential Committee, of the General Secretariat, of the Presidents of the Commissions and of the Library and Historical Archive Committee;
b) to provide assistance at the sessions of the Commissions and of the Disciplinary Section, and to write the relevant reports.
TITLE IV
Other permanent council bodies
Art. 14
Studies and Documentation Office.
Functions and activities
1. The activities of the Studies and Documentation Office shall be as follows:
a) to research and collect systematically documentation of council interest;
b) to draw up reports at the request of the Commissions or of the Council, as well as reports and opinions at the request of the Vice President or of the Presidential Committee;
c) to attend to the cases related to the acts of the Council;
d) to assist Councillors providing concise bibliographical indications and concise information on the state of certain matters.
2. The Studies and Documentation Office shall organise and collect primary and secondary legislation of interest for the Council, to be published on the Council’s website and filed in electronic documental archives. It shall also provide the Institutional Communication Office with the summaries of the decisions passed by the Disciplinary Section, relevant council acts, as well as further measures or acts of public interest, pursuant to Art. 35.
Art. 15
Studies and Documentation Office.
Directorate
1. The Director of the Studies and Documentation Office shall be a member of the Council appointed by the Council upon proposal of the Presidential Committee, having heard the Sixth Commission.
2. The Director shall hold office for one year and shall exercise the following tasks:
a) manage and organise the Office;
b) distribute work to the assigned judges and appoint rapporteurs with reference to the more important matters, on the basis of objective or qualification criteria;
c) organise shifts.
3. The Sixth Commission shall supervise the Studies and Documentation Office and steer its activity through the Director.
4. In carrying out its activities, the Office shall follow the specific indications provided by the Council.
Art. 16
Library and Historical Archive Committee
l. The Library and Historical Archive Committee shall be composed of two Councillors elected from among judges and one Councillor elected by the Parliament. One of the three members shall be, by right, the Director of the Studies and Documentation Office. The Committee shall hold office for one year.
2. The Committee shall supervise the Council’s library and historical archive, attend to relationships and collaborations with corresponding offices and institutions set up at constitutional bodies and of constitutional relevance, and promote scientific publications of interest for the Council and the judiciary.
3. The Committee may make use of the Studies and Documentation Office and shall refer periodically to the Plenary Assembly concerning its activities.
4. The historical archive shall preserve the Council’s documents filed according to a procedure established with specific resolution; it shall also preserve all other documents acquired pursuant to these Regulations. It shall attend to inventories and other consultation tools; it shall publish sources and acts of particular relevance; it shall collaborate with other services providing documentation for studies and publications.
The historical archive shall also preserve the Council’s
photographic material and may acquire audiovisual testimonies concerning the history of the judiciary.
Art. 17
Equal Opportunities Committee
1. The Equal Opportunities Committee shall formulate opinions and proposals to the competent Commissions with the aim to remove hindrances that prevent the full realisation of equal opportunities between men and women in their work as judges, and to promote positive actions.
2. The Committee shall be chaired by the President of the Sixth Commission and composed of:
a) two members of the Council;
b) six ordinary judges appointed, in proportion of their representativeness, by associations of the judiciary;
c) two experts appointed by the Equal Opportunities National Committee and by the Equal Opportunities Commission established, respectively, at the Ministry of Labour and at the Equal Opportunities Department of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
3. The President and the members of the Committee shall hold office up to the end of the council term in which they were appointed.
4. The Council shall appoint the President and the members of the Equal Opportunities Committee within and not beyond three months from its installation. Should the associations and administrations mentioned in paragraph 2, letters b) and c) not attend to the appointment of their members after the Council’s appointment of the President and members, those holding office in the previous Committee shall be extended by right.
Art. 18
Organisational Technical Structure
1. The Organisational Technical Structure shall carry out the following tasks:
a) acquire and analyse information on workloads, flows and pending suits both at national level and provided by the District Flows Commissions, so as to verify the efficiency and effectiveness of projects aimed at organising judicial offices, and so as to carry out appropriate comparisons among the same;
b) promote the sharing and dissemination of methodological and operational best practices, also through the experimentation and use of innovative techniques;
c) foster the standardisation and the quality of activities and tools, even IT, at national level;
d) provide support to the Council by verifying the operational results obtained through steering and regulatory activities, by establishing periodically the information and training needed in this sector, and by sharing data with the Ministry of Justice and its joint structures;
e) offer assistance to specific requests of local intervention;
f) disseminate the Council’s directions and resolutions to all the persons of reference in charge at local level;
g) attend to the relations with the Executive Council of the Court of Cassation and the Judicial Councils and, in particular, with the respective district IT persons of reference;
h) attend, upon indication of the Seventh Commission, to the implementation of the institutional website with specific sections devoted to the civil computerized process, the criminal computerized process and the organisational best practices.
2. The Organisational Technical Structure shall be coordinated and directed by the Seventh Commission. In the cases and ways provided for by the resolution mentioned in Art. 19, paragraph 3, it may make use of the Statistical Office. It shall be chaired by the President of the same Commission and be composed of ten judges identified by the Council, upon consultation, among those with experience in organising offices even at IT level, as well as in flow analysis, workloads and
pending suits. The appointed members shall hold office for three years. Said office shall be renewable, upon request, not more than once, for a term of one year.
3. The Council shall regulate the functioning of the Organisational Technical Structure, and if necessary it shall order the total or partial exemption of its members from their judicial functions.
Art. 19 Statistical Office
1. The Council shall make use of the Statistical Office so as to process statistical data related to judicial offices, judges and the Council’s activities. It shall refer to this Office also to assure the updating and uniformity of the mentioned data, thus providing knowledgeable support to Commissions and other council structures.
2. The Statistical Office shall carry out actions, projects, activities, researches and surveys as resolved by the Council on the basis of proposals submitted annually by the Seventh Commission. In resolving on proposals concerning the lines of action of the Statistical Office, the Seventh Commission shall keep into account proposals and requests formulated by the other Commissions. The Seventh Commission shall also coordinate the activities of the Statistical Office with those of the Statistics General Directorate of the Ministry of Justice.
3. A specially provided resolution of the Council shall regulate the functioning and the equipment of the Statistical Office, and coordinate the latter’s activity with the functions of the Organisational Technical Structure.
Art. 20
The Council’s Institutional Communication Office and Press Office
1. The Council shall be provided with an Institutional Communication Office, whose activity shall be addressed to the media. Without prejudice to the prerogatives of the Vice President and of the single Councillors, it shall attend to the communications of the Council through the institutional website and, if the case, through the other computerized means of communication identified with resolution adopted by the Plenary Assembly.
2. Keeping into account the peculiar nature of the Council’s functions, the Press Office shall be in charge of the competences provided for by Art. 9 of Law No. 150 of 7 June 2000. The analytical provisions related to the Press Office’s competences, equipment and organizational structure, pursuant to what provided for under the mentioned Law No. 150 of 2000 where compatible, are laid down by a specially provided resolution approved by the Council.
3. In exercising its functions and in the light of particular needs connected to the issuing of institutional information and communication by the two Offices governed by this article, the Council shall adopt a resolution providing guidelines for their coordination and the integration of their respective activities.
Art. 21
International Relations Office
1. The International Relations Office, made up of qualified administrative personnel, shall provide support and aid to the Commissions competent for international activities, in particular with reference to:
a) relations with self-governing bodies of the judiciary operating in other Countries and participation in activities of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary;
b) studies of comparative law, with specific regard to the judiciary regulations, in coordination with the Studies and Documentation Office;
c) professional training and updating of judges at supranational and European Union level, and relevant relations with the Judicial Councils, with the Schools for the Judiciary and the Ministries of Justice;
d) participation in activities organised by the European Judicial Training Network;
e) cultural and professional training carried out on the basis of programmes adopted by the European Commission and by other bodies of the European Union;
f) participation in European and international projects and programmes;
g) management of publicity given to acts and events of international relevance on the institutional website;
h) reception of foreign delegations;
i) organisation of meetings, conferences, educational meetings or workshops of international interest or participation;
l) participation in activities of international bodies in which the Council is represented;
m) international relations connected with the Council’s international functions and with topics of specific council interest and competence;
n) participation in international meetings;
o) collection and cataloguing of documents and studies realised by the Council at international level.
TITLE V
The Council’s activities
Art. 22
The Council’s acts
1. The Council shall resolve on the provisions indicated by Art. 10, paragraph 1, numbers 1, 2, 4, 5 of Law No. 195 of 24 March 1958, on proposal of the Commission competent per matter.
2. Analogously, it shall resolve on the Report to the Parliament concerning the administration of justice, on all other requests of the Parliament concerning possible fact-finding hearings, on requests for information concerning the functioning of justice and to this end on sending its members to judicial premises, as well as on the appointments of the examining commissions, on the results and lists of competitions and examinations and on all other acts assigned by law to its competence.
Art. 23
Proposals and opinions
1. With reference to proposals and opinions provided for by Art. 10, paragraph 2, of Law No. 195 of 24 March 1958, the Council shall resolve on the report of the Sixth Commission or any other Commission, permanent or special, competent per matter.
2. In case of urgency, the Council may resolve directly, on the basis of the report of the Vice President or of the rapporteur appointed by the Vice President. It may assign the writing of the motivation to the mentioned rapporteur, to the competent Commission or to a specially provided Committee.
3. Each member may ask the Presidential Committee, which in the next session shall refer to the Council, to discuss and vote opinions and proposals; the Council may resolve directly on said
requests, or appoint their study and processing to the competent Commission.
4. The Commissions, under their own initiative, shall have the right to ask the Presidential Committee to be appointed a case, with the aim to submit to the Council reports and proposals on matters falling within their competence.
Art. 24 Resolutions
1. The Council may adopt resolutions concerning the exercise of its functions. Each member may formulate a request to the Presidential Committee, that shall then submit it to the competent Commission.
2. The resolutions shall be communicated to the specific offices involved and, unless providing different reasoned decision, they shall be published pursuant to Art. 35. The Commissions and all council structures shall comply with the resolutions, in the exercise of their respective functions, until said resolutions are amended with a following one.
Art. 25
Circulars and directives.
Criteria for drawing up council acts
1. Circulars and directives shall be issued, within the Council’s scopes of competence, by the Vice President, in compliance with the Council’s resolution. The aim shall be to give execution or interpretation to the law and regulations, as well as to provide guidelines concerning the exercise of assignments and the Council’s discretionary power.
2. The acts approved by the Council must be formulated with homogeneity, simplicity and clarity; they must draw inspiration from simplification criteria reorganising all regulations related to matters falling within the Council’s competence into consolidated acts.
Art. 26
The Commissions’ resolutions
1. The Council may assign tasks to the Commissions, in accordance with their respective competences, aimed at the study, documentation and processing of resolutions and proposals on defined and circumscribed matters; it may provide for Commissions to formulate their own courses of action, whose definitive approval however shall be resolved by the Plenary Assembly.
2. The Commissions, upon resolution of the Council providing binding principles and guidelines, may adopt resolutions having as object acts of mere guidance on activities falling within their competence. These resolutions shall be lodged with the General Secretariat according to the procedural forms provided for by Art. 36, paragraph 3. They shall become definitive if, within ten days from the communication of the lodging, withdrawal is not requested to the Plenary Assembly, even by a single member.
3. In any case, when deeming that the resolution, adopted by the Commission pursuant to paragraph 2, does not respect the limits set by the Council, the Vice President shall introduce the case on the agenda of the Plenary Assembly for the adoption of a final decision.
TITLE VI
Giving publicity to the works of the Council and of the Commissions
Art. 27
Giving publicity to the sessions of the Council
1. The Council’s sessions shall be public.
2. For security reasons – hence, should over the need to give publicity prevalence is given to the need to safeguard the confidential nature of the criminal investigation being carried out or the need to protect the judge’s private life or that of a third party, and in particular should sensitive data be processed - the single Commissions or a minimum of three members of the Council may propose to resolve not to give publicity to a session or parts of it. The resolution not to give publicity shall be adopted in the absence of public, immediately before examining the issue at the basis of the request, by a majority of votes equal to two thirds of those validly expressed.
3. Not giving publicity to a session or parts of it shall entail requiring the public to leave the room where the session is held and the termination of any video and audio recordings, of any radio programmes or of any other form of live publicity.
4. When the session is public, the press and the public may be restricted to separate rooms connected to the courtroom through a closed audiovisual system. The Vice President shall establish access modalities and limitations in compliance with the Council’s general indications.
Art. 28
Report on the works of the Council.
Communication on the session of the Plenary Assembly
1. When sessions are public, the secretariat shall provide a brief report on the works of the Council summarising
interventions, statements of vote, vote results and, in case of roll- call, the vote expressed by each member, pursuant to the provisions of Article 45 and following. In any case, at the end of each of the Council’s sessions, an official statement of the Plenary Assembly shall be published. The brief report shall be published in a specially provided section of the institutional website devoted to the works of the Council.
2. When the Council resolves that a session or parts of it are not to be public, it may also establish that the report shall contain only the resolution adopted, the result of the vote and, in case of roll-call, the vote expressed by each member, pursuant to the provisions of Article 45 and following.
3. For the writing of the reports, the Council may make use of rapporteurs, whose employment shall be governed by the Administration and Accounting Regulations.
Art. 29
Giving publicity to the sessions of the Commissions
1. The Commissions’ sessions shall not be public.
2. The Commission may decide, as an exception, to allow the press or even the public to follow the single sessions in separate rooms through audiovisual systems. The Commission shall communicate said decision to the Presidential Committee before each session.
3. With reference to cases brought before the competent Commissions concerning the appointment of executive and semi- executive offices, or the assignment of various positions in the same office published with a single public notice, it may be decided to give publicity to said sessions upon the request of even only one third of the members, without prejudice to the conditions specified in paragraph 2.
4. In any case, it shall be prohibited to give publicity to the Commissions’ sessions in the cases provided for by Art. 27, paragraph 2.
Art. 30
Summary of works, minutes and brief report on the sessions of the Commissions
1. The Commissions shall write and publish a summary of their works, as well as a brief report - in the forms provided for by Art. 28 - of the sessions held within the scope of proceedings as mentioned in Art. 26 and in the other hypotheses provided for by the Regulations. Furthermore, should the Commission’s members submit unanimous request, a report shall be provided as mentioned in Art. 28.
2. A brief report of the sessions of the Commission competent for assigning executive and semi-executive positions shall be published immediately in a specially devoted section of the Council’s institutional website.
3. The minutes shall contain the list of the cases examined, the resolutions adopted for each case, a summary of the relevant motivations, and the opinions expressed by the members requesting them.
4. The minutes shall be read before the Commission, they shall be approved upon the Commission’s resolution on possible proposed corrections, and shall be signed by the President and by the secretary of the session.
Art. 31
Examination of acts and files by the members of the Council
1. Each member of the Council shall have the right to view and obtain a copy of judges’ personal records, of the Commissions’ register and of all the minutes, acts and documents pertaining to each case lodged, as well as of all the acts arrived at the Council after being examined by the Presidential Committee, including communications concerning the launching of disciplinary actions.
2. The members of the Council shall have the right to consult the files and acts arrived at the Disciplinary Section.
3. The aforementioned members may consult the files pertaining to disciplinary actions at the secretariat of the Disciplinary Section, which shall take relevant note.
4. Should the consultation of the files pertaining to disciplinary actions be necessary to define a specific case, upon the Commission’s or the Council’s request said files may be produced by the secretary of the Disciplinary Section, who shall participate in the Commission’s or Council’s session making the files available. As to the request to issue a copy of the acts or part of them, the decision shall be up to the Vice President in quality of President of the Disciplinary Section.
5. Upon the proposal of the Seventh Commission, the Council shall approve, concomitantly with the completion of the technological updating, a specific circular regulating the modalities for accessing the Council’s IT system.
Art. 32
Reserved protocol
1. The Presidential Committee may order the filing of acts or documents related to the security of members of the Council, judges and Judicial Offices in a reserved protocol, kept on computer at the General Secretariat.
2. The acts and documents filed in the reserved protocol shall remain covered by secrecy for ten years. At the end of said term, the mentioned acts and documents shall be passed to the Council’s historical archive.
3. Each member may request the mentioned filing to be transferred from a reserved protocol to an ordinary one, should there not be the conditions mentioned in paragraph 1. Once acquired the opinion of the Presidential Committee, the Commission for the Council’s Regulations shall decide whether to accept the request or reject it, thus confirming the filing in the reserved protocol. In the latter case, the members of the
Commission for the Council’s Regulations shall be obliged to keep secret the content of the acts and documentation examined.
Art. 33
Issuing copies of acts
1. Everybody has the right to obtain a copy or to view the minutes of the Council’s public sessions and of the council resolutions, also adopted by the Commissions, when issued in a public session.
2. Pursuant to Art. 24 of Law No. 241 of 7 August 1990, access to the following documents shall be prohibited:
a) documents covered by secrecy or obligation not to disclose expressly provided for by law;
b) documents concerning the protection of public order, the activities of the judicial police and investigations;
c) documents concerning judges’ personal security;
d) documents concerning people’s health conditions;
e) documents concerning people’s private lives;
f) documents concerning criminal and disciplinary proceedings or the lodging of administrative appeals, with the exception of the public phase of the proceedings;
g) documents concerning exemption from service.
3. Access and issuing of copies of administrative documents shall be however granted when these are necessary for looking after or defending one’s legal interests. In case of documents containing sensitive and judicial data, access shall be allowed only if strictly indispensible and pursuant to the terms provided for by Art. 60 of Lgs.D. No. 196 of 30 June 2003, in case of data capable of revealing health conditions and sex life.
4. Access for defensive reasons shall prevail over the right to secrecy in situations verified case by case and specifically as to the real needs of defence set forth by the applicant requesting access.
5. The view or the issuing of a copy of the Commissions’
minutes, as well as of acts and documents produced or acquired during proceedings defined in the Council, shall be authorized by
the Presidential Committee, upon the Commissions’ prior opinion, at the request of all private and public subjects. The latter shall include holders of widespread interests, that have a direct, practical and current interest, corresponding to a situation legally protected and connected to the document for which access has been requested. On the basis of a reasoned order, authorization may be denied, with reference to the cases mentioned in the previous paragraphs. It shall not be allowed to view or issue copies of resolutions adopted in sessions covered by secrecy, if the latter was ordered so as to protect the security of goods or people, unless the request comes from the judge involved in the proceedings. Against the denied authorization, even partial, a complaint may be lodged with the Council, that shall resolve within thirty days.
6. For proceedings not yet defined, the view or issuing of a copy of the Commissions’ minutes, as well as the acts and documents produced or acquired during proceedings, shall be authorized by the Presidential Committee, upon the Commission’s opinion. However, the cognizance or copy of said acts must be strictly necessary to make the applicant’s rights or interests asserted in proceedings within the limits mentioned in the previous paragraphs. Against the denied authorization, even partial, a complaint may be lodged with the Council, which shall resolve within thirty days.
7. The view or issuing of a copy of the report or opinion written by the Studies and Documentation Office shall be allowed pursuant to Art. 14, paragraph 1, letter b), as long as said acts concern proceedings concluded with definitive order of the Council or of a Commission, and which make express reference to the mentioned report or opinion. The request to access said documents shall be evaluated by the Presidential Committee, which shall then issue relevant decision; in case of reasoned denial, a complaint may be lodged with the Council, which shall resolve within thirty days. In any case, access to opinions issued by the Studies Office with reference to litigations or pre- litigations shall not be allowed.
8. The issuing of a copy shall be at the applicant’s expense.
Art. 34
Obligation of secrecy
1. The members of the Council shall be obliged to keep secret whatever has not been made public concerning the Council’s sessions, as well as the Commissions’ works covered by secrecy, within the limits ordered. Barring security needs, secrecy shall not be applied to resolutions adopted by the Council, purviews of the Commissions’ proposals, voting results and the votes expressed by each member.
2. Should secrecy be required as indicated in Art. 33, the Commissions may resolve, by a majority of votes, to classify their works or single acts. For the same reasons, the Presidential Committee, when assigning a case to the competent Commission, may order its temporary secrecy until the Commission has resolved in the merit.
3. The secrecy ordered by the Commission shall be effective until the proposals submitted to the Council have been approved.
However, the Commission may resolve, by a majority of votes, to propose to the Council not to give publicity to the sessions or to maintain the secrecy of single acts or documents.
4. The judges holding office at the secretariat and at the Studies and Documentation Office, as well as the assigned personnel, must not disclose whatever has not been made public concerning the Council’s sessions, without prejudice to what provided for by the last period of paragraph 1 of this article.
5. The judges holding office at the secretariat and at the Studies and Documentation Office, as well as the assigned personnel, are obliged to keep secret whatever concerns the Commissions’ sessions and the acts and documents produced or acquired during council proceedings until they are defined in public session.
Art. 35
Publication on the Council’s institutional website and regulations on communications with the Executive Council of
the Court of Cassation and the Judicial Councils
1. The Council shall publish on its institutional website all the information concerning its activities, according to the directives identified with a specific resolution. In particular, publication shall be given to all the brief reports of the Council’s sessions, to those mentioned in Art. 30 and to resolutions with reference to:
a) publications for covering vacancies at the Judicial Offices;
b) the Council’s resolutions adopted pursuant to Articles 22, 23 and 25;
c) resolutions adopted pursuant to Art. 24;
d) other acts and documents of which the Regulations allow the publication.
2. At the request of each member, and pursuant to the resolution mentioned in paragraph 1, further acts or documents may be published on the institutional website, as long as: they are not covered by secrecy or the need to protect any confidential nature, also of third parties, and they were not examined or produced during sessions covered by secrecy.
3. The request must be submitted within fifteen days from the session to which it refers.
4. All communications with the Judicial Offices, with the Executive Council of the Court of Cassation and the Judicial Councils shall be carried out by means of certified e-mail.
5. The Council, through the Organisational Technical Structure, shall provide for the development and implementation of effective forms of direct communication in network with the Executive Council of the Court of Cassation and the Judicial Councils.
PART TWO PROCEDURES
TITLE VII Special procedures
Art. 36
Procedure for interventions aimed at protecting the independence and prestige of judges and of judicial functions
1. The Council’s interventions aimed at protecting single judges or the judiciary in its whole shall entail the detection of behaviours detrimental to the prestige and independence of judges, such to disturb the regular exercise or credibility of judicial functions.
2. Requests for interventions aimed at providing protection pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be submitted by the Presidential Committee to the First Commission, which shall then proceed in verifying the conditions for launching the relevant procedure.
When deeming that the behaviours reported are detrimental to the prestige and independence of judges and are such to disturb the regular exercise or credibility of judicial functions, the Commission shall resolve to open the procedure launching preliminary investigations and formulating relevant proposal to be submitted to the Council. The procedure shall be launched upon the decision of the majority of the members of the Commission.
3. Should it not be decided to begin the procedure, the First Commission shall propose its dismissal. The proposal shall be lodged with the General Secretariat of the Council. The lodging shall be communicated immediately to the President and to all the members of the Council through a specific notice sent to their institutional e-mail address. Ten days after the mentioned communication, the proposal to dismiss shall be intended definitively approved.
4. If within ten days from the communication of the lodging, at least half of the members of the Council submit request to open the procedure, the acts shall be sent to the First Commission for the processing and formulation of the proposal to be submitted to the Council’s approval.
Art. 37
Procedure for assigning executive offices.
Open vote for assigning executive and semi-executive offices
1. When assigning executive offices, upon proposal of the President of the Commission in the cases provided for by Art. 13, paragraph 1-bis and 1-ter of Lgs.D. No. 160 of 5 April 2006, and upon specific resolution, the competent Commission shall provide the Minister with the list of candidates, its evaluations and consequent reasoned conclusions, annexing the conclusions of the dissentient who may request it, and shall proceed asking for relevant collaboration. A brief report of the Commission’s sessions shall be published pursuant to Art. 30, paragraph 2.
2. The Commission shall report the outcome of the sessions to the Council, which shall then resolve. In order to evaluate one or more candidates not mentioned in the proposal or proposals, members not belonging to the competent Commission may ask, during the Council’s session, for the case to be brought back to the Commission. Should there be more requests, these shall be formulated in a single context, in compliance with Art. 46, paragraphs 5 and 7.
3. The Council shall express its position with an open vote.
This provision shall be applicable also to the Council’s resolutions for assigning semi-executive offices.
Art. 38
Procedure for transfers and assignment of premises
1. Any vacancies to be filled shall be identified by the competent Commission. The same Commission shall publish the relevant public notice on the institutional website and use other forms of publicity capable of guaranteeing a prompt dissemination of the information.
2. After a reasonable timeframe from the date of publication of the public notice, the Commission shall form a list of candidates according to criteria established by the Council and formulate relevant proposal.
3. The Council shall vote on the basis of the Commission’s proposal. Should this be rejected, the Council shall vote on the basis of the succession of names present in the list formed by the Commission.
4. When there are several positions to be assigned in the same office and they are published concomitantly with a single public notice, the proposal or proposals of the competent Commission must indicate the successful candidates, establishing their placing in the list. Before discussion in the Council, reasoned proposals may be presented, in alternative to the proposal or proposals formulated by the Commission. For each new judge identified as successful candidate, it is necessary to indicate the names of those excluded from the list of the original proposal.
5. The Council shall vote each position separately according to the order formulated by the Commission’s single proposal.
Therefore, the Council shall start from the one that received the majority of votes in Commission or, in case of proposals with an equal number of votes, from the one presented in Commission chronologically for first. As regards positions for which alternative proposals were presented, an official vote by ballot shall be carried out according to the modalities provided in Art.
47, paragraph 5.
6. The list of the assignee judges shall be determined by the votes as mentioned in paragraph 5. Should the Council’s resolutions determine an assignment of positions even only in part
dissimilar to what proposed by the competent Commission, the final provision shall be submitted to the same Commission exclusively in order to coordinate the relevant motivation. The text of the resolution shall be lodged with the General Secretariat.
The lodging shall be communicated immediately to the members of the Council who, in the next seven days, may formulate observations and ask the Council to resolve on the coordination of the motivation; lacking said request, the resolution shall be considered definitively approved. Upon the proposal of the Third commission, the Council shall regulate the modalities for implementing this article with a specially provided circular.
7. When ordering the transfer, the Council may concomitantly inform the Minster of Justice, for the fulfilments falling within its competence, concerning the advisability for the transfer to have effect with urgency.
Art. 39
Procedure for enforced assignments and transfers
1. Should no requests be submitted for filling vacancies, the Council may enforce the assignment of a judge who manifested consent or, regardless of any approval, of a judge identified according to the order of placing in the roll.
2. In order to enforce transfers in the cases provided for by law, the established procedure shall be followed with a specially provided resolution of the Council.
Art. 40
Procedure for amending the Internal Regulations
1. In order to amend the Internal Regulations, the competent Commission shall formulate proposals and transmit them to the Presidential Committee. The latter shall then submit the proposals to the President of the Republic, in quality of President of the High Council for the Judiciary.
2. When amendments are presented during discussion in the Council, the Commission for the Council’s Regulations shall be in charge of examining the text to then transmit it to the Presidential Committee, so that it may intervene pursuant to paragraph 1.
3. Amendments and proposals shall be discussed and voted in the council session following the one in which the discussion mentioned in paragraph 2 took place.
Art. 41
Session on the state of the activities of the High Council for the Judiciary. Annual Report
1. Every year, when programming its works, the Council shall devote a session to the examination of its activities.
2. The annual session on the state of the Council’s activities shall be organised in one or more sittings convened by the Presidential Committee.
3. During the examination of the state of its activities, the Council shall:
a) examine the Commissions’ activities, also on the basis of specific reports, considering in particular the timeframe for defining cases and the progress of litigations on relevant resolutions;
b) examine the activities of the Equal Opportunities Committee and of all other council structures, including working groups possibly set up;
c) examine issues concerning the organisation of the Council and the management of financial resources, without prejudice to the provisions laid down in the Regulations governing the personnel and the Administration and Accounting Regulations;
d) submit proposals on the activities to be programmed for the following year, outline the relevant organisation in a draft calendar, and identify the priority goals to pursue.
