"The exercise of the judiciary is not limited to resolving disputes; but it contributes to the protection of the legal order and the credibility of the institutions," the pope said in an address at the Vatican on Saturday.
The occasion was a meeting with the Vatican judges, lawyers, prosecutors and judicial employees at the beginning of the new year. Italian lawyers were also present as guests.
The Pope further warned: "Observance of the guarantees of the trial, the bipartisanship of the judge, the enforcement of the right to defense and a reasonable duration of the trial (...) are conditions for the jurisprudence to be respected and contributing to the stability of the institutions."
In a state like the Vatican that territorially safeguards the independence of the Holy See, this is particularly important.
A delicate procedure is pending
"By its integrity and truth-committed exercise, justice becomes a factor of stability and trust in a society and thus naturally contributes to internal unity," said the pope, who is also head of state of the dwarf state of Vatican and its supreme legislator.
The Pope's remarks were made at the beginning of a judicial year in which a spectacular trial of a failed real estate investment in London is being negotiated in the Vatican court in the second instance.
In the first instance, under Pope Francis, among other things, the Italian Curia Cardinal Angelo Becciu (77) was sentenced to several years in prison and a high fine for embezzlement.
Since Pope Francis changed some legal norms in the ongoing process at the time, the defense spoke of a breach of rule of law principles.