Italian President Giorgio Napolitano made an impassioned appeal to politicians and magistrates on Friday, urging both groups to show restraint and end spiralling polemics over judicial reform. Napolitano, who is nominally head of the judiciary's self-governing body, the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM), said it was ''indispensable for everyone to show more restraint when making public statements''.

The country faces ''serious and complex economic and social problems which require an end to the spiralling dramatisation, tension and polemics which we see not only between opposing political blocs but also among institutions who have constitutional responsibilities,'' said the usually retiring and unassertive president.

He especially urged magistrates ''to rigorously stick to their duties,'' stressing that it was up to parliament in a ''more constructive spirit'' to map out reforms for ''the proper balance between politics and the judiciary''. He also made a veiled reference to rumours of possible early elections following the resumption of trials against Premier Silvio Berlusconi after a ruling by the constitutional court last month threw out a law granting him immunity from prosecution while in office. ''It should be stressed that nothing can bring down a government which has parliament's confidence and a ruling majority, because it stands on the cohesiveness of the coalition which was given consensus to govern from the electorate''.

The president's appeal was met with mixed reactions, with most MPs, however, welcoming his call for moderation and sobriety. Napolitano's remarks were ''strong and clear,'' said opposition Democratic Party (PD) Senate Whip Anna Finocchiaro. ''I hope his appeal will help unpoison the climate,'' she added. The head of the National Association of Magistrates (ANM), Luca Palamara, also praised Napolitano, saying magistrates could not but ''share his appeal''. Antonio Di Pietro, the former graft-busting prosecutor and leader of the opposition Italy of Values (IdV) party who recently criticised the president on another issue, said he wasn't looking to spark fresh polemics. ''Nevertheless, I want to reaffirm that there are too many MPs who have conflicts of interest with the judiciary, either directly or indirectly''. Di Pietro has repeatedly urged the premier to step down and he is organizing a no-Berlusconi day on December 5. Senate Speaker Renato Schifani hailed Napolitano for ''his customary wisdom''. Polemics over judicial issues and the premier's trials have reached fever pitch in recent weeks.

A controversial bill which would place a six-year cap on the length of trials in Italy's three-tier justice system and looks set to be approved by the Senate before Christmas has exacerbated the climate. The government's bill - which poses two-year limits on the length of trials, creating a six-year deadline for definitive verdicts - has sparked tension with Italian magistrates who estimate that more than 50% of current trials would be shelved under the statute of limitations. Justice Minister Angelino Alfano has instead predicted that only 1% of cases would be affected by the measure. Addressing a seminar on judicial organisation in Rome this week, he said the ANM's estimate that 1.7 million cases out of the 3.5 million currently being debated would be shelved was ''hyperbolic and unfounded''. Alfano said the government was keen to preserve the ''independence and autonomy of magistrates'' and had no intention of ''subjecting prosecutors to the executive''.

Alfano, however, said there must be a stop to what he termed publicity-hungry magistrates who make regular appearances on television talk shows. Schifani too has called for moderation in the debate on judicial reform issues. ''The climate is too heated, the debate is too strong and that's why I urge everyone to tone down conflictual attitudes and appear responsible and make constructive proposals," he said this week. The Silvio Berlusconi-led government says the measure would reform Italy's notoriously snail-paced judicial system. Opponents, however, argue that the bill is tailor-made to help him avoid trials for alleged tax fraud and corruption. The premier is charged with bribing English lawyer David Mills to perjure himself in two other trials and for tax fraud in the sale of film rights by his TV group Mediaset.

Should the trial-length reform pass, both of the trials will be annulled under the statute of limitations. Critics also say the reform would undo trials regarding the 2003 fraudulent bankruptcy of food giants Parmalat and Cirio, and a landmark trial against managers at Turin's Thyssenkrupp steelworks over the deaths of seven workers in a fire in 2007.