EU backs Italy justice reform

'Very brave' moves says Reicherts

(ANSA) - Brussels, September 3 - Justice Minister Andrea Orlando on Wednesay got EU support for the government's justice reform. New European Justice Commissioner Martine Reicherts called the reform "the fruit of good sense and very brave, able to push Italy along the path of growth and simplification". Premier Matteo Renzi last week launched Orlando's justice reform measures designed to halve the backlog of civil cases now clogging Italy's courts and driving investors away.

The measures will also make civil judges liable for negligence or malfeasance. As well, Renzi promised action on a controversial justice measure - making false financial statements once again a full-blown crime rather than merely a misdemeanour that doesn't earn a jail term. The law had previously been changed by ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi.