Abstract

Starting from the realization that transformations in the role of the judge (and more generally the judicial function) are always strictly linked to changes in the organization of the judicial system, the essay sets to analyze the evolution of the Italian judicial system - from its first set up as established in the Constitution till the most recent reforms. The Italian Judicial system has been oscillating between times of expansion of the autonomy and independence of judges and times of restriction of judicial power in favor of political power. In other words, this essay argues that every time the legislator has intervened on the organization of courts and the judicial system, deeper conflicts were at stake: the balancing between subjection to the law and interpretive discretion, political and judicial power, democracy and the principle of legality.