No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
The Fundamentals of the New Italian Constitution
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 November 2014
Extract
The present Italian Constitution may be said to have its origin in the adoption of the republican form of government by the referendum held in June, 1946. Its basic features are embodied in the Charter constructed by the Constitutional Assembly then elected and are designed to establish a firm foundation for the organization and life of the Italian state as well as of its citizens. The Constitution is the true expression of the popular will since exponents of the various political creeds co-operated in framing the fundamental laws and practices that are to govern the operation of the Italian state, independently of political fluctuations. Its preservation is entrusted not to the citizens or to their representatives but to the Constitutional Court which it provides for.
In the new Constitution, Italy remains a unitary state. However, the structure of the state has undergone a change since the nineteen regions, which under the monarchy were only geographical divisions, have now been given constitutional autonomy in local matters. Thus within the state we now find the following territorial subdivisions: the regions, the provinces, and the communes.
The autonomy of the regions is local in the sense that their jurisdiction does not extend beyond their respective boundaries and is confined to the promotion of local interests. Their legislative function is restricted by the Constitution (article 117) to matters such as the boundaries of the communes, local urban and rural police, public fairs and markets, public welfare agencies, medical aid and hospitalization, trade schools and other special schools, provisions for school aid, local museums and libraries, tourist trade, public means of transportation such as street cars and bus lines, public works of regional interest such as the improvement of lake ports, highways, roads, and aqueducts. The regions are required to make provisions for securing obedience to state laws. The Italian state can assign other administrative functions to the regions. All matters of general interest, such as those which relate to the administration of justice, to the relations of citizens to the Italian state, and to administrative functions of a general character, fall within the province of the Italian state legislature.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science/Revue canadienne de economiques et science politique , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , February 1954 , pp. 44 - 58
- Copyright
- Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 1954
References
1 The complete list of regions includes: Liguria, Piedmont, Valley of Aosta, Lombardy, Trentino–Upper Adige, Venetia, Friuli–Julian Venetia, Emilia–Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Marches, Latium, Abruzzi and Molise, Campania, Puglia (Apulia), Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and Sardinia.
2 There is much controversy regarding the extent of the actual power to be granted to the regions.
3 In Italy the railroads are under state management.
4 Also the agrarian reform sponsored by the Italian government benefits chiefly the peasants of southern Italy and Sicily where the Italian government has intensified its campaign to increase farm output and democratize the system of land owning. See Ruini, Meuccio et al., La Riforma Agraria come redistribuzione della proprietà (Bologna, Italy, 1949)Google Scholar, reviewed by Capocelli, Ginevra, Political Science Quarterly, LXV, 362.Google Scholar
5 Sicily, Sardinia, Valley of Aosta, Trentino–Upper Adige, Friuli–Julian Venetia enjoy a greater amount of autonomy and thus have wider legislative power.
6 At present there are 90 provinces in Italy.
7 The Italian Constitution has been defined as a social constitution in that consideration is chiefly given–in defining the rights which it protects and the duties which it imposes–to the status of the individual within the Republic and the social groups to which he belongs, the principal among them being the nation, the family, and his professional affiliations. See Angelo Piero Sereni, “The Constitution of the Italian Republic” (unpublished ), compiled under the supervision of the Cultural Division of the Italian Embassy in the United States.
8 It is expressly provided that the Republic must secure adequate economic conditions for the protection and development of the family. See ibid.
9 In March, 1953, there were in the Italian Parliament 35 women deputies and 6 women senators.
10 Property rights are protected, but considerably limited in the interest of the community. Private enterprise is free but its operation is not permitted to conflict with social interest or endanger human security, freedom, and dignity. Moreover, it is also provided that private enterprises whose operation affects a public interest or which enjoy a monopolistic status may be nationalized or handed over to public agencies or to workers' or consumers' co-operatives. Just compensation must be granted. See Sereni, “The Constitution of the Italian Republic.”
11 The new electoral law is designed to give the centre parties (the Christian Democrats, Right-Wing Socialists, Liberals, and Republicans) a working majority if they should win the elections by a slim majority. Both the extreme right (fascist sympathizers) and the extreme left (Communists) have fought the reform violently. Italy has the largest Communist party outside the Soviet bloc. New York Times, April 7, 1953.
In July, 1953, the Italian press advocated the repeal of the new electoral law on the ground that it was unfair and that it had met with public disapproval. Well-informed circles shared this view. Should the new law be repealed, the distribution of seats in the Chamber would revert to the previous system.
12 Whenever the president of the Republic is unable to perform his duties, the president of the Senate will take his place.
13 Ministers of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, Defence (including the three branches of the armed forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force), Agriculture and Forestry, Industry and Commerce, Foreign Commerce, Labour and Social Welfare, Public Instruction, Finance, the Treasury, the Merchant Marine, Transportation (railroads, etc.), Postal Service and Telecommunications, and Public Works.
14 Human rights embrace economic, social, and cultural rights. They are not limited to civil and political rights (see the United Nations Charter, section C, article 68).
15 Despite her perennial problems of unemployment and insufficient resources, Italy has been providing a slow but steady rise in real wages for workers. (Special to the New York Times by Hoffman, M. L., 03 24, 1953).Google Scholar
16 Judges may not be members of political parties.
17 Some branches of the ordinary judiciary are special because they are constituted differently from all others, being called upon to pass judgment on cases having a special character. A special organ of the ordinary penal judiciary is the Court of Assizes (Corte di Assise) designed to pass on crimes, for example, homicide and robbery and assault, which, because of the social dangers they engender, make a deeper impression on public opinion. The Court of Assizes is composed of two regular judges and six popular judges (giudici popolari) called assessors. The latter serve as magistrates occasionally, whenever their names are selected by lot from those appearing on special lists of citizens meeting all necessary requirements of age and education. From an adverse verdict of the Court of Assizes an appeal is allowed to the Court of Assizes of Appeal and an appeal from that court lies to the Court of Cassation.
18 Besides the Council of State and the Court of Accountancy, there is another auxiliary body: the National Council of Economy and Labour (article 99) composed of experts in the various fields of industry and production. The number of experts in each field is determined by the importance and influence on the economy of the field they represent. It is a consultative body for the Chambers in matters specified by law. It has legislative initiative and contributes to the legislative programme in the fields of national economy and social welfare.
19 Constitutional Court judges serve for twelve years and cannot be dismissed.