Constitutional Court of Italy

The Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic () is the highest court of Italy in matters of constitutional law. Sometimes, the name Consulta is used as a metonym for it, because its sessions are held in Palazzo della Consulta in Rome.

History

The court is a post-World War II innovation, established by the republican Constitution of Italy in 1948, but it became operative only in 1955 after the enactment of the Constitutional Law n. 1 of 1953 and the Law n. 87 of 1953.Italian Government, "Norme sulla costituzione e sul funzionamento della corte costituzionale", published 14 March 1953, accessed 5 October 2023 It held its first hearing in 1956.

Powers

According to Article 134 of the Italian Constitution, the Court shall pass judgement on: controversies on the constitutional legitimacy of laws issued by the State and Regions and when the Court declares a law unconstitutional, the law ceases to have effect the day after the publication of the ruling; conflicts arising from allocation of powers of the State and those powers allocated to State and Regions, and between Regions; charges brought against the President.

Additionally, a handful of constitutional laws were promulgated to regulate the powers and functionality of the Court during the years. The most important being constitutional law n. 1/1953, which, among other things, extends the power of reviewing and approving referendum's requests to the Court. (Art. 2)

The Constitutional Court passes on the constitutionality of laws with no right of appeal, as the Court is the highest court in relation to constitutional matters in Italy.

Since 12 October 2007, when the reform of the Italian intelligence agencies approved in August 2007 came into force, the pretext of state secret cannot be used to deny access to documents by the Court.

Composition

The Constitutional Court is composed of 15 judges for the term of service of nine years: 5 appointed by the President of Italy, 5 elected by the Parliament of ItalyParliament appoints judges with increasing delay: Giuseppe Salvaggiulo, "", in La Stampa, 3 October 2015 and Giampiero Buonomo, "", in Avanti online, 26 August 2015 . and 5 elected by the ordinary and administrative supreme courts. Of those elected by the supreme courts, 3 are elected by the Supreme Court of Cassation of Italy (penal and civil justice), one is elected by the Court of Auditors of Italy, and one by the Council of State of Italy (supreme administrative court). Candidates need to be either lawyers with twenty years or more experience, full professors of law, or (even former) judges of the Supreme Administrative, Civil and Criminal tribunals. The members then elect the President of the Court. The President is elected from among its members in a secret ballot, by an absolute majority (8 votes in the case of a full court). If no person gets a majority, a runoff election between the two judges with the most votes occurs. The President of the Court appoints one or more vice-presidents to stand in for him in the event of his absence for any reason.

Current membership

Appointed by

PortraitNameProfessionAppointed byAppointed onDate sworn inEnd of termType of membership Giovanni Amoroso(1949– ) Magistrate Courts 26 October 2017 13 November 2017 13 November 2026 President Francesco Viganò(1966– ) University professor, lawyer President 24 February 2018 8 March 2018 8 March 2027 Vice president Luca Antonini(1963– ) University professor, lawyer Parliament 19 July 2018 26 July 2018 26 July 2027 Vice president Stefano Petitti(1953–) Magistrate Courts 28 November 2019 10 December 2019 10 December 2028 Judge Angelo Buscema(1952– ) Magistrate Courts 12 July 2020 15 September 2020 15 September 2029 Judge Emanuela Navarretta(1966– ) University professor President 9 September 2020 15 September 2020 15 September 2029 Judge Maria Rosaria San Giorgio(1952– ) Magistrate Courts 16 December 2020 17 December 2020 17 December 2029 Judge Filippo Patroni Griffi(1955– ) Magistrate Courts 15 December 2021 29 January 2022 29 January 2031 Judge Marco D'Alberti(1948– ) University professor President 15 September 2022 20 September 2022 20 September 2031 Judge Giovanni Pitruzzella(1959– ) University professor, lawyer President 10 November 2023 14 November 2023 14 November 2032 Judge Antonella Sciarrone Alibrandi(1965– ) University professor President 10 November 2023 14 November 2023 14 November 2032 Judge Roberto Cassinelli(1956– ) Lawyer Parliament 13 February 2025 19 February 2025 19 February 2034 Judge Massimo Luciani(1952– ) University professor, lawyer Parliament 13 February 2025 19 February 2025 19 February 2034 Judge Francesco Saverio Marini(1973– ) University professor, lawyer Parliament 13 February 2025 19 February 2025 19 February 2034 Judge Maria Alessandra Sandulli(1956– ) University professor, lawyer Parliament 13 February 2025 19 February 2025 19 February 2034 Judge

Timeline

Constitutional Court of Italy

Bron en licentie