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. 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.
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 Italy 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, one is elected by the Court of Auditors of Italy, and one by the Council of State of Italy. Candidates need to be either lawyers with twenty years or more experience, full professors of law, or 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. 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
MagistrateCourts
26 October 201713 November 201713 November 2026President
Francesco Viganò
University professor, lawyerPresident
24 February 20188 March 20188 March 2027Vice president
Luca Antonini
University professor, lawyerParliament
19 July 201826 July 201826 July 2027Vice president
Stefano Petitti
MagistrateCourts
28 November 201910 December 201910 December 2028Judge
Angelo Buscema
MagistrateCourts
12 July 202015 September 202015 September 2029Judge
Emanuela Navarretta
University professorPresident
9 September 202015 September 202015 September 2029Judge
Maria Rosaria San Giorgio
MagistrateCourts
16 December 202017 December 202017 December 2029Judge
Filippo Patroni Griffi
MagistrateCourts
15 December 202129 January 202229 January 2031Judge
Marco D'Alberti
University professorPresident
15 September 202220 September 202220 September 2031Judge
Giovanni Pitruzzella
University professor, lawyerPresident
10 November 202314 November 202314 November 2032Judge
Antonella Sciarrone Alibrandi
University professorPresident
10 November 202314 November 202314 November 2032Judge
Roberto Cassinelli
LawyerParliament
13 February 202519 February 202519 February 2034Judge
Massimo Luciani
University professor, lawyerParliament
13 February 202519 February 202519 February 2034Judge
Francesco Saverio Marini
University professor, lawyerParliament
13 February 202519 February 202519 February 2034Judge
Maria Alessandra Sandulli
University professor, lawyerParliament
13 February 202519 February 202519 February 2034Judge

Timeline