Marta Cartabia (; born 14 May 1963) is an Italian jurist and academic who served as
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
in the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
of
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Mario Draghi
Mario Draghi (; born 3 September 1947) is an Italian economist, academic, banker and civil servant who served as prime minister of Italy from February 2021 to October 2022. Prior to his appointment as prime minister, he served as President of ...
.
Cartabia previously was Judge of the
Constitutional Court of Italy
The Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic ( it, Corte costituzionale della Repubblica Italiana) is the highest court of Italy in matters of constitutional law. Sometimes, the name ''Consulta'' is used as a metonym for it, because its sessi ...
between 2011 and 2020, Vice President from 12 November 2014 to 11 December 2019 and President from 11 December 2019 to 13 September 2020. She is a professor of constitutional law. She was the first woman to hold the office of
President of the Constitutional Court.
Early life and education
Cartabia was born in
San Giorgio su Legnano
San Giorgio su Legnano (Legnanese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northwest of Milan.
San Giorgio su Legnano borders the following municipalities: Legnano, Villa Co ...
, near
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, in 1963.
In 1987, she graduated with honours at the
University of Milan
The University of Milan ( it, Università degli Studi di Milano; la, Universitas Studiorum Mediolanensis), known colloquially as UniMi or Statale, is a public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe ...
, with the thesis "Does a European Constitution exist?" with professor
Valerio Onida
Valerio Onida (30 March 1936 – 14 May 2022) was an Italian jurist, and constitutional law professor, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy and President of the Court from September 2004 to January 2005.
Biography
Professor of Constitut ...
as her supervisor. She obtained a Ph.D. in law from the
European University Institute
The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute and an independent body of the European Union with juridical personality, established by the member states to contribu ...
in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
in 1993.
Career
Cartabia worked at the
Constitutional Court of Italy
The Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic ( it, Corte costituzionale della Repubblica Italiana) is the highest court of Italy in matters of constitutional law. Sometimes, the name ''Consulta'' is used as a metonym for it, because its sessi ...
as a clerk between 1993 and 1996. In 2005, she was employed by the
University of Milano-Bicocca
The University of Milano-Bicocca ( it, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, UNIMIB) is a public university located in Milan, Italy, providing undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate education. Established in 1998, it was ranked by the ...
as professor of the Jean Monnet Course of European Constitutional Law.
[ Between 2006 and 2010 she worked as an independent expert for the ]European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, usually known in English as the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), is a Vienna-based agency of the European Union inaugurated on 1 March 2007. It was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 168/20 ...
(FRA) in Vienna.[ For the academic year 2009–2010 Cartabia was a Straus Fellow at "The Straus Institute for the Advanced Study of Law & Justice" in ]New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.[
]
Constitutional Judge
Cartabia was appointed as Judge on the Constitutional Court by the President of Italy
The president of Italy, officially denoted as president of the Italian Republic ( it, Presidente della Repubblica Italiana) is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity, and guarantees that Italian poli ...
, Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...
, on 2 September 2011, and sworn into office on 13 September 2011.[ At the time of her appointment she was one of the youngest appointees ever, and only the third woman in history.] Cartabia succeeded Maria Rita Saulle, who had died in office. She was appointed Vice President of the Court on 12 November 2014. On 11 December 2019 Cartabia succeeded Giorgio Lattanzi
Giorgio Lattanzi (born 26 January 1939) is an Italian judge. He was Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy from 9 December 2010 to 9 December 2019 and President from 8 March 2018 until the end of his mandate.
Career
Lattanzi was born in Rome. ...
as President of the Constitutional Court, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Cartabia received all 14 votes.[ Cartabia's term in office ended on 13 September 2020. She was succeeded as president by ]Mario Rosario Morelli
Mario Rosario Morelli (born 15 May 1941) is an Italian judge. He was Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy between 12 December 2011 and 12 December 2020, and served as its president from 16 September 2020.
Career
Morelli was born in Rome on ...
and as Judge by Emanuela Navarretta.
In December 2017, Cartabia was appointed as a substitute member for Italy to the European Commission for Democracy through Law of the Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
, also known as Venice Commission
The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin ...
.[
]
Minister of Justice
On 13 February 2021, she became Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
in the Draghi cabinet
The Draghi government was the 67th government of the Italian Republic, led by former President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi. It was in office between 13 February 2021 and 22 October 2022.
The Draghi government was formed followin ...
, a national unity
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
government, succeeding Alfonso Bonafede
Alfonso Bonafede (born 2 July 1976) is an Italian lawyer and politician who has served as the Italian Minister of Justice since 1 June 2018. A lawyer by profession, Bonafede has also served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 15 March 201 ...
. Cartabia is the third woman after Paola Severino
Paola Severino (born 22 October 1948) is an Italian lawyer, academic and politician.
She served as Minister of Justice in the Monti cabinet from November 2011 to April 2013, being the first woman appointed Minister of Justice in Italian history. ...
and Annamaria Cancelleri to hold this position. On 28 April she obtained the extradition
Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
to Italy of seven former left-wing terrorists of the period of the lead years, who had found protection in France due to the Mitterrand doctrine.
On 8 July 2021, the Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
launched the reform of the criminal justice system
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...
, spearheaded by Cartabia herself, in collaboration with commission of experts chaired by the former president of the constitutional court Giorgio Lattanzi
Giorgio Lattanzi (born 26 January 1939) is an Italian judge. He was Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy from 9 December 2010 to 9 December 2019 and President from 8 March 2018 until the end of his mandate.
Career
Lattanzi was born in Rome. ...
. In November 2021, the reform of the Italian civil procedure
Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what ki ...
was also approved by the parliament. These reforms were important in order to obtain European post-COVID-19 recovery funds. As Minister of Justice, she has shown herself in favor of the implementation of substitutive sentences for prison such as semi-release, home detention, community service and fines for those who are given sentence up to four years.
Recognition
Cartabia was made Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.
The highest-ranking ...
on 24 October 2011.
Writings
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References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartabia, Marta
1963 births
Living people
Draghi Cabinet
European University Institute alumni
Female justice ministers
Italian Ministers of Justice
Judges of the Constitutional Court of Italy
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
People from San Giorgio su Legnano
Presidents of the Constitutional Court of Italy
Academic staff of the University of Milano-Bicocca
Vice Presidents of the Constitutional Court of Italy
Candidates for President of Italy
University of Milan alumni