Italian government dispute over magistrate salaries

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni refused to sign a decree authorizing nearly one billion euros for magistrate salary adjustments and arrears. Meloni cited economic priorities, noting the amount was significantly higher than funds requested for the road transport sector. The dispute follows Council of State rulings that declared previous salary calculation methods illegitimate. The National Association of Magistrates (ANM) described these adjustments as legally mandated corrections for approximately 11,000 magistrates and considered them a legal appeal.

Naples prosecutor Nicola Gratteri has addressed the controversy by expressing a willingness to reduce his own salary by 1,000 euros, provided that similar cuts are applied to members of Parliament and high-ranking government officials. Gratteri argued that the funds are legally owed to magistrates and that the mechanism is intended to protect judicial independence.

In addition to the salary dispute, Gratteri issued an alarm regarding a growing backlog of judicial requests. He reported that pending precautionary measure requests at the Naples Judge for Preliminary Investigations office rose from 1,300 in September to 1,590, with projections suggesting they could reach 2,000 by Christmas. Gratteri stated that at least 10 additional judges are required to maintain the pace of the Prosecutor’s Office.