Revista da EMERJ - V. 21 - N. 2 - Maio/Agosto - 2019

21  R. EMERJ, Rio de Janeiro, v. 21, n. 2, p. 11-39, Maio-Agosto, 2019  eastern European countries (such as Albania and Romania). Furthermore, the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura played a major role in creating the Eu- ropean Judicial Training Network (EJTN), which was founded in 2000. It is the main association for the exchange of knowledge and competence in the field of the judiciary in Europe, 37 as well as the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ), established in 2004 in Rome. 38 2. Constitutional Framework of Judicial Independence As to the Italian legal framework, key aspects concerning judicial independence of ordinary courts are found in the Italian Constitution of 1948. 39 The former basic law, the Statuto Albertino of 1948 40 , adopted the Napoleonic pattern, with the Judiciary placed within a structure headed by the Minister of Justice. 41 The Fascist regime simply reinforced the already existing structure. After World War II and the fall of the fascist regime, the Constitution assigned the courts a central role within the new democratic regime. The independence of magistrates (judges and prosecutors) 42 was assured by the introduction of remarkable changes in the traditional orga- nization of the judicial function. Fundamental provisions of the Constitution on this matter are: Justice shall be “administered in the name of the people”; 43 judges shall be “subject only to the law”; 44 the judiciary shall act as an autonomous order, independent of any other power; 45 magistrates shall be appointed 37 Cf. www.ejtn.net . For further information, s. R. Caponi, Judicial Independence in Italy – The Role of the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura, p. 135 ff. 38 Cf. www.encj.eu . 39 Cf. Art. 101–110, within Part II, dealing with the organisation of the Republic. Cf. M.A. Livingston, P.G. Monateri, F. Parisi, M. Cappelletti, The Italian Legal System. An Introduction, 2 nd ed., Stanford University Press, 2015, p. 72 ff.; M. De Cristofaro, N. Trocker (eds.), Civil Justice in Italy, p. 19 ff.; O.G. Chase, E. Hershkoff, L. Silberman, Y. Taniguchi, V. Varano, A. Zuckerman (eds.), Civil Litigation in Comparative Context, Thomson West, 2007, p. 82 ff., p. 122 ff. 40 The Statuto Albertino was the constitution that Charles Albert of Sardinia conceded to the Kingdom of Sardinia in Italy in 1848. The Statute in 1861 became the fundamental charter of the unified Kingdom of Italy and remained in force, with amendments, until 1948. 41 Art. 68 Statuto Albertino stated that “justice emanates from the King and is administered by the magistrates whom he appoints”. 42 In the Italian language (and legal terminology) the term “Magistrate” is used to indicate both judges and public pro- secutors. 43 Art. 101, para 1 Const. 44Art. 101, para 2 Const. 45 Art. 104, para 1 Const. In comparison with the German legal system, it is worth mentioning that the Constitutional Court ( Corte costituzionale ), vested with the authority to act as guardian of the Constitution, is not a branch of the judiciary.