the president of the Court of Appeal plugs the hole and goes to the hearing
VENICE – The President of the Court of Appeal who goes to apply to ensure the functioning of the Review Court, left without judges. A sort of substitute, the application, which is usually entrusted to the younger magistrates, certainly not to those who have reached the top of their careers. And instead … This is exactly what will happen today in Venice, a location burdened by a dramatic shortage of staff. The Review Tribunal, at this moment, is in the midst of the emergency. Since 1 July, after the transfer of a colleague, there are only three judges left. Too much for a few to guarantee a normal schedule of hearings. Thus, for the applications there are four scheduled in July, the same number of the Court of Appeal are made available. For today the president himself, Carlo Citterio. More unique than rare, so much so that the news made the rounds of the judicial offices.
There are no judges to review, the president of the Court of Appeal goes to the hearing
“In practice, the president has applied himself – explains the President of the Court, Salvatore Laganà – A provision that shows the great availability of President Citterio who has decided to apply himself and three other colleagues of the Court of Appeal. I can only thank him for that. In 42 years of the judiciary it is an unprecedented fact ». Interest specifies that his gesture is also a “solicitation to seek”. “It should be a concrete signal of the need for solidarity between all the offices of the district. The function of the review, among other things, is district “notes Citterio. Solidarity is essential to arrive at the end of November, when three newly appointed judges are expected to be re-examined, who will bring some normality back into the organization of the office. From September to the end of November, then, judges were applied by the courts of first instance of Treviso, Padua, Vicenza and Verona. There remained the problem of July, before the summer break. Obviously a more difficult month to cover, perhaps due to the already holiday climate. And here is the commitment-example of the judges of the Court of Appeal, president in the lead.
A case that re-proposes the Lack of justice offeredtes dramatic by the Court of Venice. «A serious problem, we always have 15 fewer judges – Laganà calculates – we are 50, therefore 30% less. It’s not a joke”. Along with the re-examination, the other office in serious trouble is that of the judge for preliminary investigations. But even monochromatic and college suffer from holes in the staff. And if the three new magistrates arriving in November should guarantee a normalization for the re-examination, the wait could be much longer for the investigating judge. Deficiencies that are making the very functioning of the justice machinery suffer. Urgencies are now guaranteed, linked to red flag arrests, and little else. More complex investigations, which should allow the intervention of the investigating judge for any custody orders, risk getting blocked. A sort of funnel for the same activity of the Prosecutor’s Office. In the classroom, then, the trials drag on from referral to referral.
In the background is the scarce attraction of the lagoon judicial offices, also linked to the particularity of Venice. «It is an uncomfortable city – admits Citterio – this contributes to making the venue a little less appetizing. Too bad, because an experience in a district office like Venice, which deals with particular crimes, enriches. And our offices are at the forefront of hope ».