Tax Justice, President Carolina Lussana: Completing the reform for an autonomous, independent and fully recognised jurisdiction

Carolina Lussana, president of the Council of Presidency of Tax Justice, emphasized during her appearance before the Chamber of Deputies that completing the reform of tax justice is now the central priority. She stated that the function of tax justice must be matched with guarantees, privileges, and a status consistent with those of other judicial authorities within the state. Lussana’s remarks were made during the examination of a draft decree law concerning the organization of tax jurisdiction. Raffaele Tuccillo, a member of the Presidency Committee, was also present at the session. Lussana expressed appreciation for the government's approach in implementing the delegation granted by Law No. 111 of 2023. This method has recognized the role of the Council of Presidency as the main institutional interlocutor. She pointed out that tax justice is not a minor jurisdiction but rather the place where one of the most delicate relationships between citizens and the state is measured, ensuring balance between the public interest in collecting revenues and the protection of taxpayers' rights. According to the Constitutional Court, the reform aims to establish a jurisdiction that complements ordinary, administrative, accounting, and military jurisdictions. From these statements, it follows that the equal dignity of the judicial function should correspond to the equal solidity of constitutional guarantees. For Lussana, the reform introduced by Law No. 130 of 2022 marked an irreversible institutional shift. Now, she argued, it is necessary to complete this path by strengthening the autonomy, independence, and self-governance of tax jurisdiction and overcoming existing disparities compared to other professional magistracies. Within the tax process, where one party represents the public taxing power, the impartiality of the judge and the authority of self-governance must be fully visible in the structure of rules and clarity of roles. For this reason, she asserted, it is essential to strengthen the Council of Presidency of Tax Justice through appropriate organizational and functional tools, starting with an autonomous role for personnel, a coherent management structure, and the establishment of an office of studies and an internal information service. The Council expressed an overall favorable assessment of the draft decree law, submitting some proposals for integration. These include the elimination of disciplinary automatisms, a review of the regime of territorial incompatibilities, and the extension to tax judges of institutions and privileges already recognized for other magistracies. Lussana concluded that principles such as equal dignity, equivalent guarantees, specialization, and effective self-governance are the guiding principles for completing the reform of tax justice and reinforcing its role within the institutional system.