Italian lawyers protest against judicial reforms

Thousands of lawyers have staged a demonstration in the Italian capital Rome against recent judicial reforms and their working conditions.

On Thursday, around 10,000 lawyers gathered in Rome on the third day of a planned demonstration against a rise in judicial costs, saying the government’s decision to increase the costs has made the legal system inaccessible for the majority of the people.

“This protest has turned out to be a success, there are at least 10,000 lawyers who have gathered here in Rome from the whole of Italy,” said lawyers grouping Organismo Unitario Dell’Avvocatura (OAU) president Nicola Marino who was leading the marching demonstrators.

The OAU group had called on its members across the country to hold the three-day strike and abstain from participating in both civil and criminal hearings.

Over the past decade, Italy has been the slowest-growing economy in the eurozone as tough austerity measures, spending cuts, and pension changes have stirred serious concerns for many people already grappling with the ailing economy.

Italians have been staging protests against high unemployment, economic adversity and hardship over a series of government-imposed austerity packages in the recent past.