To improve the functioning of the civil justice system, NRRP funds were used to strengthen the Trial Office (Ufficio per il Processo, UPP), a body created to support the work of judges. Using data from the Ministry of Justice, this paper examines the effects of this investment on the ability to handle proceedings and reduce the backlog and trial times in first-instance courts.
In the courts that employed a higher-than-median number of new UPP staff in relation to the number of incoming cases, the variation in the number of resolved cases was four percentage points higher than in the other courts. The effect was stronger in matters characterized, on average, by a longer duration and in courts that were previously more efficient. The greater ability to resolve cases, especially the more complex ones, had a positive effect on reducing the backlog and the duration of proceedings.
