Abstract

Public policy literature framed the Coivd-19 pandemic emergency as a powerful stress-test for the functioning of public administration. In this context, the article reflects on the impact of the Covid19 pandemic on the functioning of the Italian civil courts. In particular, it focuses on how organizational strategies and solutions were designed by court presidents implementing the national emergency legislation and, in the meanwhile, guaranteeing judicial services delivery during the first pandemic wave. Our analysis reveals that the national legislation leaves room for manoeuvre for court presidents in defining timing, content, and coordination mechanisms for delivering judicial services. As a result, the adopted organization strategies and solutions reflect a pre-existing tension in the Italian judicial system between local drivers of change and national attempts of standardization