The Constitution of the Italian Republic () was ratified on 22 December 1947 by the Constituent Assembly, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against, before coming into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the previous Constitution of the Kingdom of Italy had been enacted. The text, which has since been amended sixteen times, was promulgated in an extraordinary edition of Gazzetta Ufficiale on 27 December 1947.

The Constituent Assembly was elected by universal suffrage on 2 June 1946, on the same day as the referendum on the abolition of the monarchy was held, and it was formed by the representatives of all the anti-fascist forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the liberation of Italy. The election was held in all Italian provinces, except the provinces of Bolzano, Gorizia, Trieste, Pola, Fiume and Zara, located in territories not administered by the Italian government but by the Allied authorities. These territories were still under occupation as the status of the territories was being resolved through the Paris Peace Treaties of 1947. By 1947, most of these territories had been annexed by Yugoslavia, including most of the Julian March and the Dalmatian city of Zara.

Constituent Assembly

Piero Calamandrei, a professor of law, an authority on civil procedure, spoke in 1955 about World War II and the formation of the Italian constitution:

thumbnail|250px|left|The groups of the Constituent Assembly: [[Democrazia Cristiana|DC (207), PSI (115), PCI (104), UDN (41), FUQ (30), PRI (23), BNL (16), PdA (9), MIS (4) and others (7)]]

The groups that composed the Constituent Assembly covered a wide range of the political spectrum, with the prevalence of three major groups, namely Christian democratics, liberals and leftists. All these groups were deeply anti-fascist, so there was general agreement against an authoritarian constitution, putting more emphasis on the legislative power and making the executive power dependent on it.

All the different political and social views of the Assembly contributed in shaping and influencing the final text of the Constitution. For example, constitutional protections concerning marriage and the family reflect natural law themes as viewed by Roman Catholics, while those concerning workers' rights reflect socialist and communist views. This has been repeatedly described as the constitutional compromise, and all the parties that shaped the Constitution were referred to as the arco costituzionale (literally, "Constitutional Arch").

There were 556 members of the Constituent Assembly, of which 21 were women, with 9 from the Christian Democratic group, 9 from the Communist group, 2 from the Socialist group, and 1 from the Common Man's group. These members came from all walks of life, including politicians, philosophers and partisans; and many of them went on to become important figures in the Italian political history.

Provisions

The Constitution is composed of 139 articles (five of which were later abrogated) and arranged into three main parts: Principi Fondamentali, the Fundamental Principles (articles 1–12); Part I concerning the Diritti e Doveri dei Cittadini, or Rights and Duties of Citizens (articles 13–54); and Part II the Ordinamento della Repubblica, or Organisation of the Republic (articles 55–139); followed by 18 Disposizioni transitorie e finali, the Transitory and Final Provisions.

The Constitution primarily contains general principles; it is not possible to apply them directly. As with many written constitutions, only few articles are considered to be self-executing. The majority require enabling legislation, referred to as accomplishment of constitution. This process has taken decades and some contend that, due to various political considerations, it is still not complete.

Preamble

The preamble to the Constitution consists of the enacting formula:

Fundamental Principles (Articles 1–12)

The Fundamental Principles declare the foundations on which the Republic is established, starting with its democratic nature, in which the sovereignty belongs to the people and is exercised by the people in the forms and within the limits of the Constitution. The Principles

The Principles mention the international law and the rights of the foreigner, in particular the right of asylum for people who are denied in their home country the freedoms guaranteed by the Italian Constitution, or who are accused of political offences. They also repudiate war of aggression and promote and encourage international organisations aimed to achieve peace and justice among nations, even agreeing to limit sovereignty, on condition of equality with other countries, if necessary to achieve these goals.

The last of the Principles establishes the Italian tricolour as the flag of Italy: green, white and red, in three vertical bands of equal dimensions.

Rights and Duties of Citizens (Articles 13–54)

Civil Relations (Articles 13–28)

thumb|The [[flag of Italy, one of the national symbols of Italy]]

Articles 13–28 are the Italian equivalent of a bill of rights in common law jurisdictions. The Constitution

Freedom of expression, press and religion are guaranteed in public places, except for those acts which are considered offensive by public morality. For example, hate speech, calumny and obscenity in the public sphere are considered criminal offences by the Italian Criminal Code.

Every citizen is protected from political persecution and cannot be subjected to personal or financial burden outside of the law. The right to a fair trial is guaranteed, with everyone having the right to protect their rights regardless of their economic status. Conditions and forms of reparation in case of judicial errors are defined by the law, and retroactive laws are not recognized, therefore nobody can be convicted for an action which was not illegal at the time in which it took place.

Criminal responsibility is considered personal, therefore collective punishments are not recognized. A defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty, and punishments are aimed at the rehabilitation of the convicted. The death penalty and cruel and unusual punishments are prohibited. Extradition of citizens is not permitted outside of those cases provided by international conventions, and is prohibited for political offences.

Public officials and public agencies are directly responsible under criminal, civil, and administrative law for acts committed in violation of rights. Civil liabilities are also extended to the Government and to the public agencies involved.

Ethical and Social Relations (Articles 29–34)

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The Constitution General rules of education are established by law, which also establishes public schools of all branches and grades. The Constitution prescribes examinations for admission to and graduation from the various branches and grades and for qualification to exercise a profession. Private schools are required to meet the same standards of education and qualifications, while universities and academies can establish their own regulations within the limits of the law. Education is also a right, with a compulsory and free primary education, given for at least eight years. The highest levels of education are a right also for capable and deserving pupils, regardless of their financial status. To this end scholarships, allowances to families and other benefits can be assigned by the Republic through competitive examinations.

Economic Relations (Articles 35–47)

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According to the Constitution,

Trade unions may be freely established without obligations, except for registration at local or central offices and requirements such as internal democratic structures. Registered trade unions have legal personality and may, through a unified representation that is proportional to their membership, enter into collective labour agreements that have a mandatory effect on all persons belonging to the categories referred to in the agreement. The right to strike is recognised within the limits of the law.

The Constitution recognises free enterprise, on condition it does not damage the common good, safety, liberty, human dignity, health, or the environment. The Republic is supposed to establish appropriate regulations on both public and private-sector economic activities, in order to orient them toward social and environmental purposes. Public and private properties are recognised, guaranteed and regulated by the law, with particular mention of the regulation of inheritance and the possibility of expropriation with obligation of compensation in the public interest. Also, to ensure the rational use of land and equitable social relationships, there could be constraints on the private ownership and size of land. The Republic protects, promotes and regulates small and medium-sized businesses, cooperatives and handicrafts and recognises the right of workers to collaborate in the management of enterprises, within the limits of the law. Private savings and credit operations are encouraged, protected and overseen.

Political Relations (Articles 48–54)

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Article 48 The right to vote cannot be restricted except for civil incapacity, irrevocable penal sentences or in cases of moral unworthiness as laid down by the law.

Political parties may be freely established and petitions to Parliament by private citizens are recognised in order to promote the democratic process and express the needs of the people. Any citizen, male or female, at home or abroad, is eligible for public office on the conditions established by law. To this end, the Republic adopts specific measures to promote equal opportunities between men and women, and for Italians not resident in the territory of the Republic. Every elected official is entitled to the time needed to perform that function and to retain a previously held job.

Article 52 states that the defence of the homeland is mandatory and the "sacred duty for every citizen". It also stipulates that national service is performed within the limits and in the manner set by law. Since 2003, Italy has no more conscription, even though it can be reinstated if required. The fulfilment of which cannot prejudice a citizen's employment, nor the exercise of political rights. Particular mention is given to the democratic spirit of the Republic as the basis for the regulation of the armed forces.

The Constitution establishes a progressive form of taxation, which requires every citizen to contribute to public expenditure in accordance with their capability. Also, Article 54 states that every citizen has the duty to be loyal to the Republic and to uphold its Constitution and laws. Elected officials have the duty to fulfil their functions with discipline and honour, taking an oath to that effect in those cases established by law.

Organisation of the Republic (Articles 55–139)

Power is divided among the executive, the legislative and judicial branches; the Constitution establishes the balancing and interaction of these branches, rather than their rigid separation.

Parliament (Articles 55–82)

The Houses (Articles 55–69)

thumbnail|right|[[Palazzo Montecitorio, seat of the Chamber of Deputies]]

thumbnail|right|[[Palazzo Madama, Rome|Palazzo Madama, seat of the Senate of the Republic]]

Article 55 and verified for members by each House even after the election; and nobody can be a member of both Houses at the same time. New elections must take place within seventy days from the end of the term of the old Parliament. The first meeting is convened no later than twenty days after the elections, and until such time the powers of the previous Houses are extended.

In default of any other provisions, Parliament has to be convened on the first working day of February and October. Special sessions for one of the Houses may be convened by its President, the President of the Republic or a third of its members; and in such cases the other House is convened as a matter of course. The President and Bureau of each House is elected among its member and during joint sessions the President and Bureau are those of the Chamber of Deputies. Each House adopts its rules by an absolute majority and, unless otherwise decided, the sittings are public. Members of the Government have the right and, if demanded, the obligation to attend, and shall be heard when they so request. The quorum for decisions in each House and in a joint session is a majority of the members, and the Constitution prescribes the majority required of those present for passing a decision.

Members of Parliament do not have a binding mandate, cannot be held accountable for the opinions expressed or votes cast while performing their functions, and cannot be submitted to personal or home search, arrested, detained or otherwise deprived of personal freedoms without the authorisation of their House, except when a final court sentence is enforced, or when the member is apprehended in flagrante delicto.

The salary of the members of Parliament is established by law.

Legislative Process (Articles 70–82)

thumbnail|right|Swearing in of President [[Sergio Mattarella in front of a joint session of Parliament at Palazzo Montecitorio]]

Article 70 from the Parliament. Temporary measures shall lose effect from the beginning if not transposed into law by the Parliament within sixty days of their publication. Parliament may regulate the legal relations arisen from the rejected measures.

The Constitution gives to the Parliament the authority to declare a state of war and to vest the necessary powers into the Government. The Parliament has also the authority to grant amnesties and pardons through a law having a two-thirds majority in both Houses, on each section and on the final vote, and having a deadline for implementation. Such amnesties and pardons cannot be granted for crimes committed after the introduction of such bill.

Parliament can authorise by law the ratification of such international treaties as have a political nature, require arbitration or a legal settlement, entail change of borders, spending or new legislation.

Budget and financial statements introduced by the Government must be passed by the Parliament every year, while provisional implementation of the budget may not be allowed except by law and for no longer than four months. The budget must balance revenue and expenditure, taking account of the adverse and favourable phases of the economic cycle, which can be the only justification for borrowing. New or increased expenditure must be introduced by laws providing for the resources to cover it.

Both Houses can conduct enquiries on matters of public interest, through a Committee of its Members representing the proportionality of existing parties. A Committee of Enquiry may conduct investigations and examination with the same powers and limitations as the judiciary.

The President of the Republic (Articles 83–91)

thumbnail|[[Quirinal Palace, official residence of the President of the Republic]]

thumbnail|President [[Sandro Pertini in his office at the Quirinal Palace]]

The President of the Republic Nevertheless, Provision XIII also imposes the confiscation by the State of the assets of the former kings of the House of Savoy, their spouses and their male descendants existing on national territory, while declaring null and void the acquisitions or transfers of said properties which took place after 2 June 1946. Titles of nobility are no longer recognised, while the predicates included in those existing before 28 October 1922 are established as part of the name of the title holders. The Order of Saint Mauritius is preserved as a hospital corporation and its functions are established by law, while the Heraldic Council is suppressed.

With the entry into force of the Constitution, the legislative decree of the Lieutenant of the Realm No. 151 of 25 June 1944 on the provisional organisation of the State will become law. Within one year of the same date, the revision and co-ordination therewith of previous constitutional laws which had not at that moment been explicitly or implicitly abrogated will begin. The Constituent Assembly must pass laws on the election of the Senate of the Republic, special regional statues, and the law governing the press, before 31 January 1948. Until the day of the election of the new Parliament, the Constituent Assembly can be convened to decide on matters attributed by law to its jurisdiction. The Provisions also detail the temporary functions of the Standing Committees, the Legislative Committees, and the Deputies.

Provision XVIII calls for the promulgation of the Constitution by the provisional Head of State within five days of its approval by the Constituent Assembly, and its coming into force on 1 January 1948. The text of the Constitution will be deposited in the Town Hall of every Municipality of the Republic and there made public for the whole of 1948, in order to allow every citizen to know of it. The Constitution, bearing the seal of the State, will be included in the Official Records of the laws and decrees of the Republic. The Constitution must be faithfully observed as the fundamental law of the Republic by all citizens and bodies of the State.

Amendments

In order to make it virtually impossible to replace with a dictatorial regime, it is difficult to modify the Constitution; to do so (under Article 138) requires two readings in each House of Parliament and, if the second of these are carried with a majority (i.e. more than half) but less than two-thirds, a referendum is held if asked for. Under Article 139, the republican form of government cannot be reviewed. When the Constituent Assembly drafted the Constitution, it made a deliberate choice in attributing to it a supra-legislative force, so that ordinary legislation could neither amend nor derogate from it. Legislative acts of parliament in conflict with the Constitution are subsequently annulled by the Constitutional Court.

Three Parliamentary Commissions have been convened in 1983–1985, 1992–1994 and 1997–1998 respectively, with the task of preparing major revisions to the 1948 text (in particular Part II), but in each instance the necessary political consensus for change was lacking.

The text of the Constitution has been amended 16 times. Amendments have affected articles 48 (postal voting), 51 (women's participation), 56, 57 and 60 (composition and length of term of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate of the Republic); 68 (indemnity and immunity of members of Parliament); 79 (amnesties and pardons); 88 (dissolution of the Houses of Parliament); 96 (impeachment); 114 to 132 (Regions, Provinces and Municipalities in its entirety); 134 and 135 (composition and length of term of the Constitutional Court). In 1967 articles 10 and 26 were integrated by a constitutional provision which established that their last paragraphs (which forbid the extradition of a foreigner for political offences) do not apply in case of crimes of genocide.

Four amendments were presented during the thirteenth legislature (1996–2001), these concerned parliamentary representation of Italians living abroad; the devolution of powers to the Regions; the direct election of Regional Presidents; and guarantees of fair trials in courts. A constitutional law and one amendment were also passed in the fourteenth legislature (2001–2006), namely, the repealing of disposition XIII insofar as it limited the civil rights of the male descendants of the House of Savoy; and a new provision intended to encourage women's participation in politics.

Further amendments are being debated, but for the time being 61.32% of those voting in the 25–26 June 2006 referendum rejected a major Reform Bill approved by both Houses on 17 November 2005, despite its provisions were diluted in time; the attempt to revise Part II appears to have been abandoned or at least postponed, but in 2014 its parts on bicameralism has been resumed by Renzi Government in a partially different draft.

In 2007, the constitution was amended making capital punishment illegal in all cases (before this the Constitution prohibited the death penalty except "in the cases provided for by military laws in case of war;" however, no one had been sentenced to death since 1947 and the penalty was abolished from military law in 1994).

Articles 81, 97, 117 and 119 were amended on 19 October 2020, reducing the total number of parliamentarians by about one third, and capping the total number of senators for life appointed by the President at five in all cases.

Article 58 was amended on 18 October 2021, lowering the voting age for the Senate from 25 to 18 years old, the same as the Chamber of Deputies.

Articles 9 and 41 were amended on 8 February 2022, introducing legal frameworks for the protection of the environment, the biodiversity, and the ecosystems.

Notable Members of the Constituent Assembly

The following is a list of notable members of the Constituent Assembly:

  • Leonetto Amadei (PSI), future President of the Constitutional Court
  • Gaspare Ambrosini (DC), jurist
  • Giorgio Amendola (PCI), writer
  • Giulio Andreotti (DC), future Prime Minister and life Senator
  • Lelio Basso (PSI), journalist
  • Bianca Bianchi (PSI), teacher and writer
  • Ivanoe Bonomi (GM), former Prime Minister
  • Piero Calamandrei (PdA), university professor and author
  • Emilio Colombo (DC), future Prime Minister and life Senator
  • Benedetto Croce (PLI), philosopher
  • Alcide De Gasperi (DC), incumbent Prime Minister
  • Florestano Di Fausto (DC), architect and engineer
  • Giuseppe Di Vittorio (PCI), trade unionist
  • Luigi Einaudi (PLI), future President
  • Amintore Fanfani (DC), future Prime Minister
  • Vittorio Foa (PdA), trade unionist
  • Antonio Giolitti (PCI), future minister
  • Angela Gotelli (DC), teacher
  • Giovanni Gronchi (DC), future President
  • Leonilde Iotti (PCI), future President of the Chamber of Deputies
  • Giovanni Leone (DC), future President
  • Girolamo Li Causi (PCI), future PCI leader
  • Luigi Longo, (PCI) future PCI secretary
  • Emilio Lussu (PdA), writer
  • Gaetano Martino (PLI), future President of the European Parliament
  • Bernardo Mattarella (DC), future minister
  • Teresa Mattei (PCI), former partisan
  • Lina Merlin (PSI), teacher
  • Aldo Moro (DC), future Prime Minister
  • Pietro Nenni (PSI), future Foreign Minister
  • Francesco Saverio Nitti (UDN), former Prime Minister
  • Umberto Nobile (PCI), Air Force General and explorer
  • Teresa Noce (PCI), labor leader and journalist
  • Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (GM), former Prime Minister
  • Randolfo Pacciardi (PRI), future Defense Minister
  • Ferruccio Parri (PRI), former Prime Minister
  • Giuseppe Pella (DC), future Prime Minister
  • Sandro Pertini (PSI), future President
  • Maria Maddalena Rossi (PCI), former partisan and journalist
  • Paolo Rossi (PSI), future President of the Constitutional Court
  • Giuseppe Saragat (PSDI), future President
  • Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (DC), future President
  • Antonio Segni (DC), future President
  • Carlo Sforza (PRI), future Foreign Minister
  • Paolo Emilio Taviani (DC), future Interior Minister
  • Umberto Terracini (PCI), President of the Constituent Assembly
  • Palmiro Togliatti (PCI), incumbent Justice Minister
  • Umberto Tupini (DC), future minister

See also

Former constitutions

  • First Cisalpine Constitution (1797)
  • Second Cisalpine Constitution (1798)
  • Third Cisalpine Constitution (1801)
  • Italian Constitution (1802)
  • Constitutional Statute of Italy (1805)
  • Statuto Albertino (1848)

Others

  • Birth of the Italian Republic
  • Constitutional laws of Italy
  • History of Italy
  • Politics of Italy
  • Post-World War II Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany
  • Post-World War II Constitution of Japan
  • Rule according to higher law
  • Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe
  • Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947

Notes

Footnotes

References

  • La Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana Senato della Repubblica
  • The Constitution of the Italian Republic Senate of the Republic
  • Guide to Italian Legal Research and Resources on the Web
  • The Members of the Constituent Assembly
  • Archive footage of the Signing of the Constitution