page_title: Constitution of Italy
section_title: The Organisation of the Judiciary (Articles 101–110)
hierarchical_section_title: Constitution of Italy / Provisions / Organisation of the Republic (Articles 55–139) / The Judicial Branch (Articles 101–113) / The Organisation of the Judiciary (Articles 101–110)
caption_attribution_description: The Palace of Justice in Rome, Italy, seat of the Supreme Court of Cassation. View from the opposite side of Umberto I bridge.
context_page_description: The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended fifteen times, was promulgated in an extraordinary edition of Gazzetta Ufficiale on 27 December 1947. The Constituent Assembly was elected by universal suffrage on 2 June 1946, on the same day as the referendum on the abolition of the monarchy was held. The election was held in all Italian provinces. The Constitution was drafted in 1946 and came into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the Constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino, had been enacted.
context_section_description: Article 101 states that justice is administered in the name of the people, and that judges are subject only to the law. The Constitution empowers the Judiciary to nominate and regulate magistrates exercising legal proceedings, establishing the Judiciary as autonomous and independent of all other powers. Special judges are prohibited, while only specialised sections for specific matters within the ordinary judicial bodies can be established, and must include the participation of qualified citizens who are not members of the Judiciary.
  The provisions concerning the organisation of the Judiciary and the judges are established by law, ensuring the independence of judges of special courts, of state prosecutors of those courts, and of other persons participating in the administration of justice. Direct participation of the people in the administration of justice is also regulated by law.
  The Council of State and the other bodies of judicial administration have jurisdiction over the protection of legitimate rights before the public administration and, in particular matters laid out by law, also of subjective rights. The Court of Accounts has jurisdiction in matters of public accounts and in other matters laid out by law. The jurisdiction of military tribunals in times of war is established by law. In times of peace they have jurisdiction only for military crimes committed by members of the Armed Forces.
  The High Council of the Judiciary is presided over by the President of the Republic, two-thirds of its members are elected by all the ordinary judges belonging to the various categories, and one third are elected by Parliament in joint session from among university professors of law and lawyers with fifteen years of practice. Its vice-president is elected by the Council from among those members designated by Parliament. The members of the Council are elected for four years and cannot be immediately re-elected. They also cannot be registered in professional rolls, nor serve in Parliament or on a Regional Council while in office.
  The Council has jurisdiction for employment, assignments and transfers, promotions and disciplinary measures of judges, following the regulations established by the Judiciary.
  Judges are selected through competitive examinations, while honorary judges for all the functions performed by single judges can be appointed also by election. University professors of law and lawyers with fifteen years of practice and registered in the special professional rolls for the higher courts can be appointed for their outstanding merits as Cassation councillors, following recommendations by the Council.
  Judges cannot be removed, dismissed or suspended from office or assigned to other courts or functions unless by a decision of the Council, following the rules established by the Judiciary or with the consent of the judges themselves. Judges are distinguished only by their different functions, and the state prosecutor enjoys the guarantees established by the Judiciary.
  The legal authorities have direct use of the judicial police. The Minister of Justice is responsible for the organisation and functioning of those services involved with justice and has the power to originate disciplinary actions against judges, which are then administered by the High Council of the Judiciary.
caption: Palace of Justice, seat of the Supreme Court of Cassation.
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