Naples – The Bar Association of Naples has decided to challenge before the TAR the order of the presidency of the Neapolitan Court which orders the transfer of the Thursday criminal hearings from the detached section of Ischia at the headquarters in Naples.
At the same time, the Council of the Order has decided to abstain from civil and criminal hearings for next April 3 and to convene a meeting of members to denounce the serious dysfunctions of the local justice system.
The decision was made following the critical issues highlighted by lawyers, who complain about the risk of delays in trials and the compromise of the continuity of justice, both for Ischia and Naples. The president of the Order, Carmine Foreste, expressed strong concerns about the closure of the Office of the Justice of the Peace of Naples North, calling it "a failure of the rule of law, of the government and of the management of the judicial office".
The crux of Thursday's criminal hearings
One of the most contested points concerns the absence of a professional judge for the Thursday criminal hearings in Ischia. The Bar Association had requested the announcement of a procedure of interpello to assign a magistrate from the central office to the Ischia section, limited to the weekly hearings.
However, the President of the Court has established that the hearings will instead be postponed by the honorary judge and held later in Naples, following the calendar of the Neapolitan professional judge.
Added to this is the provision according to which the magistrate who will deal with the Ischia cases in Naples will, in turn, have to postpone his own Neapolitan hearings to a date to be determined.
Inconveniences and consequences for the community
According to the Bar Association, the measure will have significant repercussions on local justice, with a further lengthening of trial times and serious inconvenience for citizens, law enforcement and lawyers on the island, forced to travel to Naples at their own expense to attend hearings. “It is unthinkable that an entire judicial system should be penalized due to staff shortages,” Foreste said.
The Order has instructed lawyer Alessandro Barbieri to formally challenge the provisions before the competent authorities, with the aim of obtaining a review of the contested provisions and ensuring an adequate functioning of justice in the territories concerned.
Article published on March 19, 2025 - 21pm
