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

 R. EMERJ, Rio de Janeiro, v. 21, n. 2, p. 11-39, Maio-Agosto, 2019  22 by competition, 46 performed through written and oral examinations; 47 they shall be differentiated only by the diversity of their functions; 48 as a rule, they may not be removed from office or assigned to other courts or functions. 49 3. High Council of the Judiciary at a Glance The High Council of the Judiciary plays a key role in ensuring the independence of career magistrates in ordinary courts (judges and prosecutors). Apart from the power of initiating disciplinary proceedings, the Ministry of Justice has no decisional powers in governing the judiciary. Moreover, the Ministry has responsibility only for “the organisation and direction of all services connected with the administration of justice”, “except for matters within the competence of the High Council of the Judiciary”. 50 To put it bluntly, it is the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura that is in charge of governing the judiciary and protecting judicial independence. 51 The system of self governance of the judiciary also includes judicial councils ( consigli giudiziari ) sitting in the courts of appeal, which perform an advisory function in all the decisions of the CSM regarding the status of judges and prosecutors working in their respective areas of territorial competence. 52 4. Composition of the High Council Two thirds of the CSM members are magistrates elected by their colleagues. One third of the members are drawn from among law profes- sors and lawyers with at least 15 years of professional experience and are elected by the Parliament by a qualified majority, there by guaranteeing the As to the Bundesverfassungsgericht , the solution in the German legal system is the opposite (Art. 92 GG). The judges of the Corte costituzionale are chosen by Parliament (5 judges), Head of State (5), Supreme Court (3), Council of State (1), Court of Accounts (1). Cf. M. De Cristofaro, N. Trocker (eds.), Civil Justice in Italy, p. 29 ff. 46 Art. 106, para 1 Const. 47 Law no. 48 of 2001. 48 Art. 107, para 4 Const. 49 Art. 107, para 1 Const. 50 Cf. Art. 110 Const. 51 Cf. G. Di Federico , Judicial Independence in Italy, A. Seibert Fohr, L.F. Müller (eds.), Judicial Independence in Transition, Springer, 2012, p. 357 ff., p. 397. Di Federico’s paper is a major contribution on this topic. 52 Cf. Law no. 111 of 2007.