Lawmakers traded shouts and shoves after approving a controversial bill backed by Meloni’s coalition.

On Thursday, a vote on a judicial reform bill in Italy’s Lower House ended in shouts and shoves between government and opposition lawmakers, who criticized the ruling coalition for celebrating the vote.

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The Chamber of Deputies approved, with 243 votes in favor and 109 against, the separation of judges’ and prosecutors’ careers. The measure has been a priority for the governing coalition, especially for the conservative Forza Italia party, as it was a longtime goal of its late founder, Silvio Berlusconi. Lawmakers from the governing parties celebrated the result.

The constitutional reform now moves to the Senate for final approval, expected by the end of the year. A referendum will be required afterward, as the measure is unlikely to secure the two-thirds majority needed in Parliament.

Opposition members approached government benches to protest the celebrations, particularly those directed at Foreign Minister and Forza Italia leader Antonio Tajani, while no explanations were given on Gaza. The shouting and scuffles forced Chamber President Lorenzo Fontana to suspend the session and call in parliamentary group leaders.

The text reads, “A fight broke out in the Chamber after the judicial reform was approved on third reading.”

“We are moving forward with the judicial reform process. We will continue working to provide Italy and Italians with an increasingly efficient and transparent justice system. While awaiting the Senate’s final approval, we will move forward with determination to deliver to the nation a historic and long-awaited reform,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, hailing the bill’s passage.

The constitutional reform would establish separate career paths for prosecutors and judges, who currently share the same track. If enacted, it would also create two superior councils of the Judiciary, one for prosecutors and one for judges — a change that the opposition warn poses a threat to democracy.

The National Magistrates Association (ANM) said that separating prosecutors from the Judiciary “only serves to make them more controllable” because it “weakens their ability to investigate the powerful.”

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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