GRECO (Group of States against Corruption). Fourth Evaluation Round. Evaluation Report on Italy, “Corruption prevention in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors”, adopted by GRECO at its 73rd Plenary Meeting (Strasbourg, 17-21 October 2016) (GRECO Eval IV (2016) 2) (Publication: 19 January 2017)

The Report underlines some problems related to the corruption prevention of members of Parliament, judges and prosecutors. In the first case, it highlights the inefficacy of rules regulating conflicts of interests, which undermines the conduct of the parliamentary system. Therefore, GRECO recommends the adoption of clear and enforceable conflict of interest rules and a systematization of the currently fragmented ineligibility and incompatibility regime. With regard to the judicial system, the Report stresses on the necessity to draw a more rigorous line between judicial functions and participation in political life. The current Italian legal system, in fact, establishes the non-eligibility of judges in the territory where they exert judicial functions, but there are no restrictions to magistrates being directly appointed to public functions at local bodies. With reference to prosecutors, decisions on the allocation of cases and mechanisms for resolving possible internal conflicts should be subject to strict and pre-established criteria. In this regard, GRECO recommended Italy to introduce a regular system for assessing the members of the judicial system, in order to guarantee transparency and professional conduct.