Statement from 32 associations in support of ASGI: justice is not a “system,” it is a right for all.

There is a political mindset that views the law as an obstacle, lawyers and rights organisations as a nuisance, and the judiciary as an enemy to be taken down whenever a decision made in the name of the law displeases those in power.

These attacks now target anyone who, in various capacities, protects people’s rights, but with particular intensity when those rights concern foreigners. This attack on the judiciary is linked to the issue of immigration, which is used as a constant propaganda tool. A media campaign has been launched against associations of lawyers specialising in immigration and asylum law and their members responsible for reception, attacking magistrates guilty of invalidating government measures deemed contrary to national and European laws. This campaign never addresses the substance of the issue or the contested law, but merely pits the constitutional powers of the state against each other, demanding the primacy of governmental power. These attacks therefore target not only the individuals named, but also the very heart of the institutions and the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic.

The objectives are multiple but convergent: human rights organisations are perceived as enemies, the issue of migration is exploited as a threat to national security, and the judiciary is designated as the ultimate enemy because it interferes in political decisions.

We are alarmed by these media and political campaigns because they propose a model of society and a legal system that, above all, violate the Constitution, while establishing a hierarchical social order in which the most disadvantaged are pitted against others.

Faced with this scenario, which is intensifying and becoming increasingly violent, we believe it is our duty to remind everyone that in any state governed by the rule of law, such as Italy, associations that intervene in the courts or in public with all legal practitioners are instruments of justice, regardless of their political affiliation. The issue of migration is a social reality which, like any other, must be managed in accordance with constitutional and international values. The judiciary is neither an ally nor an enemy, but an institution subject only to the law, in accordance with the Constitution, and independent of any other power. It therefore serves only justice, and certainly not the power or political majority of the moment, as the guarantor of the rights of all.

Our commitment aims to reaffirm that the policies of the majority, which alternate in a democracy, are only legitimate within the limits set by the Constitution.