Be irreproachable and reserved, you will avoid appearing biased or biased – Corriere.it

«The Judiciary is entrusted by the Constitution with the protection of rights, through the application of the law. These are tasks aimed at guaranteeing the equality and equal dignity of people, fundamental values ​​in a democratic state”: underlines in the first place the very important role played in society by magistrates the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, in meeting the magistrates in training at the Quirinale, together with the Minister of Justice, the members of the CSM and the School board. A «by now consolidated tradition, cultivated with conviction, because it constitutes the opportunity to underline the importance and delicacy of the functions that you will soon be carrying out, as judges or as prosecutors», explains the head of state, who wishes his listeners to maintain the «momentum and motivation» together with the «measure and courage» necessary to «deal with the fatigue and responsibility of deciding pursuing the sole purpose of affirming the right ».

The “highest” task

His is not mere theory: «Having personally known and frequented dozens of magistrates authentic bearers of these values», it is natural for Mattarella «to remember that the awareness of such a high function is part of the ethical heritage of the Italian Judiciary, whose traditio is entrusted to the Judicial Order as a whole, which is therefore also required to maintain constant and rigorous attention to the of its individual components. It also has a fundamental role the School of the Judiciarywhich provides for “a selection of teachers who, together with legal skills, have the ability to observe demeanor and behavior appropriate to their role”. This is an important passage in Mattarella’s speech, which will return several times to the importance of combining respect for the law and irreproachable conduct in the “highest task” that magistrates are called to exercise.

The risk of individualism

Very high and very delicate, given that “as judges or prosecutors – Mattarella reminds the magistrates in pectore – you will have to make decisions that affect people’s lives, sometimes even dramatically». But the tracks are clear: “The judges are subject only to the law, in the sense that the law represents its foundation and at the same time its limit”. Therefore their «determinations must be governed by the wisdom of the law. No fear of possible reactions from public opinion or the interests involved – warns Mattarella – but careful consideration of the issues, avoiding arbitrary regulatory reconstructions, dictated by improper desire for originality or, worse, of judicial individualism», Mattarella warns them. The magistrate is not alone, in fact, but it operates, the President of the Republic recalls, “within the ambit of a legal system” and can therefore count on “continuous opportunities for dialectical confrontation within the articulations of the judicial offices”. So in the end”the relevant decision is the one that the judicial authority as a whole will be able to providenot just that of its single actor».

Consistency in the interpretation of the laws

This dialectical path «must help, on the one hand, not to personalize the decision – never persistence to support preconceived theses – and must lead, on the other hand, to an in-depth evaluation of the concrete case in order to provide the decision with a high strength of resistance in the various degrees of the judgment». But how to behave, faced with the need to interpret the laws to apply them to concrete cases? Mattarella suggests «grasping the value of jurisprudential consistency in the interpretation of the rules, which constitutes an important tool to implement the principle of equality dictated by art. 3 of the Constitution, which imposes equal treatment before the law in similar cases”.
The role played in this direction by the Court of Cassation «is essential, due to the orientation function in the interpretation of the rules, which must always be coherent and recognizable». Because “the comparison with the jurisprudence of legitimacy is for you, young magistrates, as for everyone, a guide and an interpretative key useful in every role”, recalls Mattarella.

The importance of sober conduct

But “juridical knowledge” is not enough.

It is necessary, recalls the president, that the magistrates are «available to listen, to be able to ponder the decision, the result of seriousness in the study and adequate weighting in the judgment”. And this is where the second pillar of the task that the new magistrates will be called upon to perform comes in: “The social responsibility that characterizes the judicial function – underlines the head of state – also imposes serious respect for professional ethics and the sobriety of individual conduct. The impartiality of the decision must, in fact, also be protected through the irreproachability and confidentiality of individual conduct, so as to avoid the risk of appearing biased or biased». A fundamental aspect in times of spectacularization of politics and processes, and “particularly important for every institution of the Republic in this season in which the precious multiplication of information channels also presents the risk of transmitting the appearance of virtual realities”.

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