The Government of the Republic of Italy is disciplined by the Constitution in its collegiate nature, with no specification of the competences of each sector of the civil service. This specification was made only recently by means of an ordinary law which better defines the tasks of the President of the Council of Ministers, and also distinguishes the competence of each ministry.
The Minister of Justice is the only Minister mentioned in the Constitution.

Pursuant to Article 110 of the Constitution, the Minister of Justice has the duty to care for "the organization and functioning of the services connected with justice". This peculiarity stems from the provisions of the Constitution which guarantee the principle that the judiciary should be independent from the legislature and the executive, and which state that they "are only subject to the law". The organ with constitutional significance which guarantees the independence of the judiciary is the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura (Superior Council of the Magistrature). It is presided by the President of the Republic. The Consiglio attends to the judges' recruitment, assignments, transfers and promotions. The law regulating the functioning of the Consiglio gives the Minister of Justice the faculty to formulate requests and remarks on matters for which the Consiglio is specifically competent. The Minister can participate in the Consiglio's sittings when the President so requests or when the Minister considers it necessary in order to make communications or give clarifications. Moreover, the Minister of Justice has the faculty to ask the Courts' Chief Justices information on the functioning of the system of justice. The Minister expresses, as well, his/her agreement on the nomination of the Heads of the Uffici Giudiziari (Law Courts).

The Minister of Justice is also entitled to take disciplinary action against members of the judiciary. The Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura gives its opinion on the actions promoted by the Minister of Justice.

The Constitution, therefore, provides for the two fundamental functions of the Minister of Justice: the organization of the services of the judiciary and the right to take disciplinary action against the judges. The other functions are set out in ordinary laws.