Italian justice among the worst in Europe: “Increasingly slow and inefficient”
Almost half of Italians have no confidence in the Italian judicial system. The conclusion was published in an annual report by the European Commission on the European Union's justice system, and released this week.
According to the newspaper publication The print, 46% of citizens have the impression, and perhaps even the belief, that judges and courts are not independent, that there is corruption in the judiciary or that there is manipulation in decisions.
Data that places Italy among the last in confidence indicators, ahead only of Cyprus, Malta and Portugal.
Among those who have a “bad” impression (29%) and a “very bad” impression (17%), there is almost one Italian out of two who reject the Italian justice system.
On the other hand, 37% show confidence in the independence and authority of judges. 17% of citizens interviewed did not want or knew how to respond.
The problem doesn't seem to be a lack of resources. A Italy is the ninth EU country that spends the most money on the judicial system, the equivalent of 96 euros – around R$432 – for each citizen.
Distrust of business
The bad news for Italy doesn't stop there. The economic and business world is not very different from the feelings of ordinary citizens. Only 39% of businesspeople say they believe in the full functioning of Italian justice.
On the other hand, almost six in ten businesspeople (58%) have a negative or very negative view of judges or justice, numbers that inhibit investment by foreign companies in the country.
The time taken to complete the process also causes a feeling of distrust in the increasingly slow and inefficient mechanism of Italian justice.
In 2016, a first instance decision in civil or commercial matters took around 514 days. In 2017, the time rose to 548 days – more than an extra month.
It is the longest time among European Union countries.
In second and third instance decisions, the numbers rise to 843 days and 1299 days, respectively, reaching up to three and a half years.
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