Italians will vote on March 22 and 23 on a constitutional referendum that would change the structure of the country's judiciary.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leader of a hard-right coalition government since October 2022, says the reform is needed to ensure the impartiality of judges.
But critics call the move a power grab that will compromise judges' independence, making them more answerable to politicians.
AFP breaks down the reform and its significance.
Why the reform?
Supporters of the judicial reform say its aim is to ensure that magistrates' rulings are free from bias.
They argue that separating the careers of judges and prosecutors to make them fully distinct, while changing their oversight bodies, will help keep judges impartial, to the ultimate benefit of the defendant.
Those who oppose the reform say the reorganisation is designed to weaken the power and independence of judges, however, to make them potentially more vulnerable to political influence.
What changes?
There are two pillars to the proposed reform. The first would impose on prosecutors and judges distinct career paths.
Currently, both prosecutors and judges are considered magistrates and as such can switch functions, although only a tiny minority do so. A 2022 justice reform, moreover, limited that to one change per career, in the first 10 years.
The reform's second pillar regards each profession's oversight.
The Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM), which currently oversees all magistrates and is charged with assignments, transfers and promotions, will be divided into two distinct councils, one for prosecutors and one for judges.
The CSM today also acts as a disciplinary body, but under the reform a new, 15-member disciplinary court will be set up. Appeals will also be handled by that body instead of by a third-party entity as happens today, in which appeals go before the Supreme Court.
Unlike today, where CSM members are elected by peers and parliament, the reform introduces random selection, with members to be chosen by lot, for both councils and the disciplinary court.
Important details have yet to be drafted, however. A fraction of the judges to be randomly selected for the new court will come from a list compiled by parliament -- but whether that list is long, or short, has not been determined.
Why a referendum?
Changes to Italy's 1948 constitution must be voted on twice by both chambers of parliament and pass on the second by a two-thirds majority. Failing that, the change can be put to a referendum, under certain conditions, with voters opting for yes or no.
No quorum is required, meaning that even if turnout is low for the referendum to be held March 22 and 23, the majority of votes will win.
Long-held idea
The idea of separating the careers of judges and prosecutors was originally an idea floated by the Communist party in the 1980s before eventually being taken up by the right.
It became a cause celebre for former prime minister and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, whose three terms as premier beginning in the 1990s were marked by dozens of trials led by what he called "uncontrollable" magistrates.
According to a European Commission report from January 2025, 46 percent of Italians judged the level of independence in courts and judges to be "fairly good or very good", compared with an EU average of 54 percent.
Cautionary tale
This will be the fifth time that Italians have been asked whether they want to change their constitution since it came into effect in 1948 following World War Two and Italy's Fascist era.
Most recently, ex-premier Matteo Renzi staked his political career on a constitutional referendum over electoral reform in 2016. Resoundingly rejected by voters, it also put a swift end to Renzi's centre-left government.