Honorary magistrates, Italy referred to Court of Justice. And a new procedure

Brussels – Honorary magistrates and contractual jungle: Italy has failed to adapt its system and is now being referred to the Court of Justice. The European Commission has allowed at least four years to resolve a problem that has never been solved so far. Italy has also benefited from the ‘Draghi factor’: in 2022, an additional letter of formal notice had, in fact, delayed the infringement process started in 2021, but no action was taken; hence, the decision to proceed through the courts. 

The complaints concerning Italy are always the same: non-alignment of national legislation applicable to honorary magistrates with EU labour law. The Commission considers that the national rules still do not comply with directive on fixed-term work, part-time working directive and working time directive. The first urges governments to prevent abuses arising from successive fixed-term contracts, the second prohibits unjustified discrimination against part-time workers, and the third sets minimum standards for daily and weekly rest, as well as paid holidays.

The problem is that in Italy, diverse categories of honorary magistrates (honorary justices of the peace, honorary deputy prosecutors and honorary court judges) do not enjoy the status of ‘worker’ under Italian national law and are considered volunteers serving in an ‘honorary’ capacity. As a result, these categories of honorary magistrates receive less favourable treatment than regular judges in terms of sickness, accident and pregnancy benefits, tax treatment, and paid annual leave.

The referral and the new procedure

For the government, the situation is complicated in light of the Commission’s decision to distinguish between events before 15 August 2017 and those after 15 August 2017. Italy’s referral to the Court of Justice of the EU concerns honorary magistrates hired after that date. For honorary judges in office before 15 August 2017, other rules still apply, creating a de facto situation of discrimination between equal professional figures. For this reason, the EU executive decided to send a completely new letter of formal notice, which means that two separate infringement procedures are now being pursued.

Motorway tolls and contracts, other knots to be unravelled

The doubling of the infringement procedure regarding honorary magistrates is not the only bad news for Italy within the October monthly infringement package adopted by the College of Commissioners. The EU Commission also decided to refer the country to the Court of Justice for “incomplete transposition”of the EU rules on tolls and user charges for the use of road infrastructure. There was time until 25 March 2024 to communicate the transposition measures, which, however, were never notified to Brussels. Based on the available information, it was considered that “the efforts made so far by the Italian authorities to adopt the necessary measures have not been sufficient,” the Commission says—considerations based on missing updates that are no longer to be expected. Now the Meloni government will have to give an explanation to the judges in Luxembourg. 

Finally, the European Commission is sending Rome a third letter of formal notice, requesting further corrective measures in the field of public procurement. Brussels believes that the new rules on the procedures for awarding project financing and on the disclosure of technical and commercial secrets relating to bids submitted in tenders, set out in the Italian Public Procurement Code adopted in April 2023 and amended in December 2024, “are still not in line with the EU Public Procurement Directives.”