Government of Italy: Difference between revisions

The '''government of Italy''' is in the formthat of a [[democratic republic]], and was gufytdfrtydrydcrydcrcctestablishedestablished by athe Italian [[constitution]] in 1948. It consists of [[Legislature|legislative]], [[Executive (government)|executive]], and [[Judiciary|judicial]] subdivisions, as well as of a [[Headhead of Statestate]], orknown as the [[President of Italy|president]].

The [[ItalianConstitution of Italy|Constitution of the Italian Republic]] is the result of the work of the [[Constituent Assembly of Italy|Constituent Assembly]], which was formed by the representatives of all the [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi[[Nazism|nazis]] and Fascistthe fascist forces during the [[Italian Civil War]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McGaw Smyth |first1=Howard |title=Italy: From Fascism to the Republic (1943-1946) |journal=The Western Political Quarterly |date=September 1948 |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=205 |doi=10.2307/442274}}</ref> Article 1 of the Italian constitution states: ''Italy is a democratic Republic founded on labour. Sovereignty belongs to the people and is exercised by the people in the forms and within the limits of the Constitution''.<ref name=ItaConst>{{cite web|title=The Italian Constitution|url=http://www.quirinale.it/page/costituzione|publisher=The official website of the Presidency of the Italian Republic}}</ref> {{blockquote|text="Italy is a democratic Republic founded on labour. Sovereignty belongs to the people and is exercised by the people in the forms and within the limits of the constitution."}}

By stating that Italy is a [[democratic republic]], the article solemnly declares the results of the [[1946 Italian constitutionalinstitutional referendum, 1946|constitutionalinstitutional referendum]] which took place on 2 June 1946 valid. The [[Italy|Statestate]] is not athe hereditary property of the [[King of Italy|ruling monarch]], but it is instead a ''[[Resres Publicapublica]]'', belonging to everyone.

The people who are called to temporarily administer the republic are not owners, but servants; and the governed are not [[CommonersCommoner|subjects]], but [[Citizenship|citizens]]. And the [[sovereignty]], that is the power to make choices that involve the entire community, belongs to the people, in accordance with the concept of a [[democracy]], from the Greek ''demos'' (people) and ''kratìa'' (power). However, this power is not to be exercised arbitrarily by [[Rulemob of the mob|arbitrarilyrule]], but in the forms and within the limits established by the [[rule of law]].

[[File:Sergio Mattarella Presidente della Repubblica Italiana.jpg|thumb|left|180px|upright|[[Sergio Mattarella]], [[Presidentpresident of Italy]] since 3 February 2015]]

AsThe President of the Republic of Italy is the [[head of state]], the President of the Republicand represents the unity of the nation and(art. has many87 of the duties previously given to the [[King of Italy]]Constitution). The President serves as a point of connection between the [[Separation of powers|three branches]] as he is elected by the lawmakers, appoints the executive and is the president of the judiciary. The Presidentpresident is also [[commander-in-chief]] in the time of war.

The President of the Republic of Italy is elected for seven years by Parliament in joint session, together with three representatives of each region, except for the Aosta Valley, which gets only one representative. These delegates are elected by their respective [[Regional Councilcouncil (Italy)|Regionalregional Councilscouncils]] so as to guarantee representation to minorities. The election needs a wide majority that is progressively reduced from two-thirds to one-half plus one of the votes after the third ballot. The only Presidentspresidents ever to be elected on the first ballot are [[Francesco Cossiga]] and [[Carlo Azeglio Ciampi]]. Ciampi was replaced by [[Giorgio Napolitano]], who was elected on 10 May 2006. While it is not forbidden by the law, no Presidentpresident had ever served two terms until 20 April 2013, when President [[Giorgio Napolitano]] was reelectedre-elected.

According to the [[Constitution of Italy|Constitutionconstitution]], any citizen who is fifty50 years old on the day of the election, and enjoys civil and political rights, can be elected president. The president cannot hold office in any other [[Separation of powers|branch of power]] and the office's salary and privileges are established by law.

Among the powers of the [[President of Italy|Presidentpresident]], arethey have the capacity to:<ref name="ItaConst"/>

* Send messages to the [[Italian Parliament|Parliamentparliament]], authorise the introduction of bills by the [[Council of Ministers (Italy)|Governmentgovernment]], and promulgate laws, decrees and regulations,.

* [[Dissolution of parliament|dissolveDissolve]] one or both [[Bicameralism|Houseshouses of Parliamentparliament]], in consultation with their presidents, except during the last six months of his termsterm, unless that period coincides at least in part with the final six months of the [[Italian Parliament|Parliamentparliament]].

* Call a general [[Referendums in Italy|referendum]] under certain circumstances established by the [[Constitution of Italy|Constitutionconstitution]].

* Appoint state officials in the cases established by the law.

* Accredit and receive diplomats, and ratify [[International treatyTreaty|international treaties]], after the Parliamentparliament's authorisation when required.

* Make [[declaration of war|declarations of war]] agreed upon by the [[Italian Parliament|Parliamentparliament]], as [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Italian Armed Forces|armed forces]].

* Grant [[Presidential pardon|pardons]]s, [[Commutation of sentence(law)|commute sentences]], and confer the [[List of Italian orders, ofdecorations, knighthood|honoraryand distinctionsmedals of the RepublicItaly]].

The [[President of Italy|Presidentpresident]] also presides over the High Council of the Judiciary and the Supreme Council of Defence. Usually, the Presidentpresident tries to stay out of the politicalday-to-day debatepolitics, and tries to be an institutional guarantee for all those involved in the political process. The president is not responsible for the actions performed in the exercise of his duties, except for [[Treason|high treason]] and violation of the [[Italian Constitution of Italy|ConstitutionItalian constitution]], for which the Presidentpresident can be [[Impeachment|impeached]] by the Parliamentparliament in joint session, with an absolute majority of its members.

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With article 48 of the [[Constitution of Italy#The Parliament .28Articles 55-82.29|Constitutionconstitution]], which guarantees the [[Suffrage|right to vote]], the people exercise their power through their [[Representative democracy|elected representatives]] in the [[Italian Parliament|Parliament]]parliament.<ref name="ItaConst"/> The [[Italian Parliament|Parliament]] has a [[Bicameralism|bicameral system]], and consists of the [[Italian Chamber of Deputies (Italy)|Chamber of Deputies]] and the [[Italian Senate of the Republic (Italy)|Senate of the Republic]], elected every five years.

The Chamber of Deputies is elected by [[Direct suffrage|direct]] and [[universal suffrage]] by [[voters]] who are eighteen or older. There are 400 deputies, eight of which are elected in the [[Overseas constituencies of the Italian Parliament of Italy|overseas constituencies]].<ref name="ItaConst"/> All [[voters]] who are twenty-five or older on [[Election Day (politics)|election day]] are eligible to be deputies.<ref name="ItaConst"/>

The [[Italian Senate of the Republic (Italy)|Senatesenate]] is elected by [[Direct suffrageelection|direct]] and [[universal suffrage]] by [[voters]] who are eighteen or older. There are 200 senators, four of whom are elected in the [[Overseas constituencies of the Italian Parliament of Italy|overseas constituencies]].<ref name="ItaConst"/> There are also a small number of [[Senator for life|senators for life]], such as [[List of Presidentspresidents of Italy|former Presidentspresidents]] and up to five citizens appointed by the [[President of Italy|Presidentpresident]] for having brought honor to the [[Italy|nation]] with their achievements. All [[voters]] who are forty or older on [[Election Day (politics)|election day]] are eligible to be senators.<ref name="ItaConst"/> Elections of senators for each region being based on a modified proportional representation system.

[[File:Giorgia Meloni Official 2023 crop.jpg|thumbnail|right|180px|[[Giorgia Meloni]], [[List of Primeprime Ministersministers of Italy|Prime Minister of Italy]] since 22 October 2022]]

The [[Constitution of Italy#The Government .28Articles 92-100.29|Constitutionconstitution]] establishes the Government of [[Italy]] as composed of the President of the Council of Ministers ([[Prime Minister of Italy|Primeprime Ministerminister]]) and Ministersthe cabinet's ministers. The [[President of Italy]] appoints the Primeprime Ministerminister and, on histhe prime minister's proposal, the Ministerssubsequent ministers that form itstheir [[CabinetCouncil of Ministers (Italy)|cabinet]].<ref name="ItaConst"/> The appointee is usually the leader of the [[Coalition government|majority coalition]] that won the [[Elections in italyItaly|election]] (e.g. [[Fourth Berlusconi government|Berlusconi IV Cabinet]]), but itthey can also be a new leader emerging from a post-election leadership challenge within the majority coalition (e.g. [[Renzi government|Renzi Cabinet]]), or a person instructed by the President to form a [[National unity government#Italy|national unity government]] in times of political crisis, such as in a coalition shift (e.g. [[Second Conte government|Conte II Cabinet]]), or if enough politicians from the majority coalition [[Party switching#Italy|switchingswitch parties]] (e.g. [[Monti government|Monti Cabinet]]). In any eventscenario, the government must receive the confidence of both [[Bicameralism|Houseshouses]],<ref name="ItaConst"/> so the Executiveexecutive branch derives its legitimacy from the [[Italian Parliament|Parliament]] and the [[List of political parties in Italy|great number]] of [[Party-list proportional representation|political parties]] forces the Primeprime Ministerminister to bend to their will.

If the [[Coalition government|majority coalition]] no longer supports the government, the Prime Minister can be ousted with a [[Motion of no confidence|vote of no confidence]], at which point the President can either appoint a new Prime Minister capable of forming a government with the support of Parliament, or [[Dissolution of parliament|dissolve Parliamentparliament]] and call for new elections. [[Cabinet reshuffle]]s are also possible in case specific Ministersministers lack the support of Parliamentthe parliament, while the Primeprime Ministerminister remains in charge. In the [[history of the Italian Republic]], there have been [[List of legislatures of the Italian Republic|twenty legislatures]] (including the [[AssembleaConstituent Assembly of CostituenteItaly|Constituent Assembly]]), [[List of Prime Ministers of Italy#Italian Republic .281946.E2.80.93present.29|forty-five consecutive premierships]], and [[Meloni Cabinet|sixty-eight different cabinets]].

[[File:Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana.jpg|thumb|One of three original copies, now in the custody of Historical Archives of the [[President of the Italian RepublicItaly|President of the Republic]], of the [[Constitutionconstitution of Italy]].]]

The [[law of Italy]] has a plurality of sources of production. These are arranged in a hierarchical scale, under which the rule of a lower source cannot conflict with the rule of an upper source (hierarchy of sources).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dirittoeconomia.net/diritto/fonti_diritto/gerarchia_fonti.htm|title=GERARCHIA DELLE FONTI|access-date=26 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> The [[Constitution of Italy|Constitutionconstitution of 1948]] is the main source.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/italy.php|title=Guide to Law Online: Italy &#124; Law Library of Congress|website=www.loc.gov}}</ref>

The [[Constitution of Italy#The Judicial Branch .28Articles(Articles 101-113.29101–113)|Constitutionconstitution]] states that [[justice]] is administered in the name of the people and that [[judge]]s are subject only to the [[law]].<ref name="ItaConst"/> So the [[judiciary]] is a branch that is completely autonomous and independent of [[Separation of powers|all other branches of power]], even though the [[Ministry of Justice (Italy)|Ministerminister of Justicejustice]] is responsible for the organization and functioning of those services involved with [[justice]] and has the power to originate disciplinary actions against [[judge]]s, which are then administered by the [[High Council of the Judiciary (Italy)|High Council of the Judiciary]], presided over by the [[President of Italy|Presidentpresident]].<ref name="ItaConst"/>

The [[judiciary of Italy]] is based on [[Roman law]], the [[Napoleonic codeCode]] and later [[statute]]s. It is based on a mix of the [[adversarial system|adversarial]] and [[inquisitorial system|inquisitorial]] [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] systems, although the [[adversarial system]] was adopted in the Appealappeal Courtscourts in 1988. Appeals are treated almost as new trials, and three degrees of trial are present. The third is a legitimating trial.

There is only partial [[judicial review]] of legislation in the [[North America|North-American]] sense. Judicial review existscan be enacted only under certain conditions, either it already being established by the [[Constitutional Lawlaws of Italy|constitutional law]], or in the [[Constitutional Court of Italy|Constitutional Court]], or Corte Costituzionale, which can reject anti-constitutionalviolating laws after judicial scrutiny. According to Article 134 of the [[Italian Constitution of Italy#Constitutional Guarantees (Articles 134–139)|Constitutionconstitution]], the [[Constitutional Court of Italy|Constitutional Court]] shall pass judgement on:<ref name="ItaConst"/>

* Controversies on the [[Constitutionality|constitutional legitimacyconstitutionality]] of laws issued by the [[Italy|state]] and [[Regions of Italy|regions]].

* Conflicts arising from the allocation of powers of the state and those powerspowers’ allocated to state and regions andallocation between regions.

* Charges brought against the [[President of Italy|Presidentpresident]] and until 1989 the [[CabinetCouncil of Ministers (Italy)|Ministersministers]].

The Constitutional Court is composed of 15 judges, one of which is the President of the Italian Constitutional Court elected from the court itself. One third of the judges are appointed by the [[President of Italy|President of the Italian Republic]], one-third are elected by Parliament and one-third are elected by the ordinary and administrative supreme courts. The Constitutional Court passes on the constitutionality of laws, and is a post-[[World War II]] innovation.

The Constitutional Court was primarily established "for the protection of the legal order and only indirectly as an institution for the vindication of [[fundamental rights]]" of individuals.<ref name="Barsotti">Vittoria Barsotti, Paolo G. Carozza, Marta Cartabia, Andrea Simoncini, ''Italian Constitutional Justice in Global Context'' (Oxford University Press, 2016), pp. 60–61</ref> The court generally only has the power of [[judicial review]] over "laws and enactments having force of law issued by the State and Regions" (what is called [[Primary and secondary legislation|primary legislation]] in civil-law systems) and does not have the power to review administration acts and regulations, or parliamentary rules.<ref name="Barsotti"/>

{{Italy topics}}