Editing Government of Italy

{{Short description|Legislative, executive and judiciary authority of Italy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Politics of Italy}}

The '''government of Italy''' is that of a [[democratic republic]], established by the Italian [[constitution]] in 1948. It consists of [[Legislature|legislative]], [[Executive (government)|executive]], and [[Judiciary|judicial]] subdivisions, as well as of a [[head of state]], known as the [[President of Italy|president]].

The [[Constitution 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 [[Nazism|nazis]] and the 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:<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 institutional referendum|institutional referendum]] which took place on 2 June 1946 valid. The [[Italy|state]] is not the hereditary property of the [[King of Italy|ruling monarch]], but instead a ''[[res publica]]'', belonging to everyone.

The people who are called to temporarily administer the republic are not owners, but servants; and the governed are not [[Commoner|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 [[mob rule]], but in the forms and within the limits established by the [[rule of law]].

== Head of State ==
{{Further|President of Italy|Italian order of precedence}}
[[File:Sergio Mattarella Presidente della Repubblica Italiana.jpg|thumb|left|180px|upright|[[Sergio Mattarella]], [[president of Italy]] since 3 February 2015]]
The President of the Republic of Italy is the [[head of state]] and represents the unity of the nation (art. 87 of the 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 president is also [[commander-in-chief]] in 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 council (Italy)|regional councils]] 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 presidents 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 not forbidden by the law, no president had ever served two terms until 20 April 2013, when President [[Giorgio Napolitano]] was re-elected.

According to the [[Constitution of Italy|constitution]], any citizen who is 50 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|president]], they have the capacity to:<ref name="ItaConst"/>
* Send messages to the [[Italian Parliament|parliament]], authorise the introduction of bills by the [[Council of Ministers (Italy)|government]], and promulgate laws, decrees and regulations.
* [[Dissolution of parliament|Dissolve]] one or both [[Bicameralism|houses of parliament]], in consultation with their presidents, except during the last six months of his term, unless that period coincides at least in part with the final six months of the [[Italian Parliament|parliament]].
* Call a general [[Referendums in Italy|referendum]] under certain circumstances established by the [[Constitution of Italy|constitution]].
* Appoint state officials in the cases established by the law.
* Accredit and receive diplomats, and ratify [[Treaty|international treaties]], after the parliament's authorisation when required.
* Make [[declaration of war|declarations of war]] agreed upon by the [[Italian Parliament|parliament]], as [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[Italian Armed Forces|armed forces]].
* Grant [[pardon]]s, [[Commutation (law)|commute sentences]], and confer the [[orders, decorations, and medals of Italy]].

The [[President of Italy|president]] also presides over the High Council of the Judiciary and the Supreme Council of Defence. Usually, the president tries to stay out of the day-to-day politics, 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 [[Constitution of Italy|Italian constitution]], for which the president can be [[Impeachment|impeached]] by the parliament in joint session, with an absolute majority of its members.

== Legislative branch ==
{{Further|Parliament of Italy|Italian Chamber of Deputies|Italian Senate}}
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Lorenzo Fontana in 2024 (cropped).jpg
 | caption1 = [[Lorenzo Fontana]], [[List of Presidents of the Italian Chamber of Deputies|President of the Chamber of Deputies]] since 14 October 2022
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 | caption2 = [[Ignazio La Russa]], [[List of Presidents of the Italian Senate|President of the Senate]] since 13 October 2022
}}

With article 48 of the [[Constitution of Italy|constitution]], which guarantees the [[Suffrage|right to vote]], the people exercise their power through their [[Representative democracy|elected representatives]] in the parliament.<ref name="ItaConst"/> The [[Italian Parliament]] has a [[Bicameralism|bicameral system]], and consists of the [[Chamber of Deputies (Italy)|Chamber of Deputies]] and the [[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|overseas constituencies]].<ref name="ItaConst"/> All voters who are twenty-five or older on [[election day]] are eligible to be deputies.<ref name="ItaConst"/>

The [[Senate of the Republic (Italy)|senate]] is elected by [[Direct election|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|overseas constituencies]].<ref name="ItaConst"/> There are also a small number of [[Senator for life|senators for life]], such as [[List of presidents of Italy|former presidents]] and up to five citizens appointed by the [[President of Italy|president]] for having brought honor to the [[Italy|nation]] with their achievements. All voters who are forty or older on [[election day]] are eligible to be senators.<ref name="ItaConst"/> Elections of senators for each region being based on a modified proportional representation system.

== Executive branch ==
{{Further|Prime Minister of Italy|Council of Ministers (Italy)}}
[[File:Giorgia Meloni Official 2023 crop.jpg|thumbnail|right|180px|[[Giorgia Meloni]], [[List of prime ministers of Italy|Prime Minister of Italy]] since 22 October 2022]]

The [[Constitution of Italy#The Government .28Articles 92-100.29|constitution]] establishes the Government of Italy as composed of the President of the Council of Ministers ([[Prime Minister of Italy|prime minister]]) and the cabinet's ministers. The [[President of Italy]] appoints the prime minister and, on the prime minister's proposal, the subsequent ministers that form their [[Council of Ministers (Italy)|cabinet]].<ref name="ItaConst"/> The appointee is usually the leader of the [[Coalition government|majority coalition]] that won the [[Elections in Italy|election]] (e.g. [[Fourth Berlusconi government|Berlusconi IV Cabinet]]), but they 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|switch parties]] (e.g. [[Monti government|Monti Cabinet]]). In any scenario, the government must receive the confidence of both [[Bicameralism|houses]],<ref name="ItaConst"/> so the executive branch derives its legitimacy from the [[Italian Parliament]] and the [[List of political parties in Italy|great number]] of [[Party-list proportional representation|political parties]] forces the prime minister 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 parliament]] and call for new elections. [[Cabinet reshuffle]]s are also possible in case specific ministers lack the support of the parliament, while the prime minister remains in charge. In the [[history of the Italian Republic]], there have been [[List of legislatures of the Italian Republic|twenty legislatures]] (including the [[Constituent Assembly of Italy|Constituent Assembly]]), forty-five consecutive premierships, and sixty-eight different cabinets.

== Judicial branch ==
{{Further|Law of Italy|Judiciary of Italy|Constitutional Court of Italy|Court of Cassation (Italy)}}
[[File:Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana.jpg|thumb|One of three original copies, now in the custody of Historical Archives of the [[President of Italy|President of the Republic]], of the [[constitution 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|constitution 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 (Articles 101–113)|constitution]] 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)|minister of justice]] 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|president]].<ref name="ItaConst"/>

The [[judiciary of Italy]] is based on [[Roman law]], the [[Napoleonic Code]] 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 appeal courts 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 can be enacted only under certain conditions, either it already being established by [[Constitutional laws of Italy|constitutional law]], or in the [[Constitutional Court of Italy|Constitutional Court]], which can reject violating laws after judicial scrutiny. According to Article 134 of the [[Constitution of Italy#Constitutional Guarantees (Articles 134–139)|constitution]], the [[Constitutional Court of Italy|Constitutional Court]] shall pass judgement on:<ref name="ItaConst"/>
* Controversies on the [[constitutionality]] of laws issued by the [[Italy|state]] and [[Regions of Italy|regions]].
* Conflicts arising from the allocation of powers of the state and those powers’ allocation between regions.
* Charges brought against the [[President of Italy|president]] and until 1989 the [[Council of Ministers (Italy)|ministers]].

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"/>

In November 2014, Italy accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the [[International Court of Justice]].<ref>[http://www.icj-cij.org/en/declarations/it Declarations recognizing the jurisdiction of the Court as compulsory: Italy], International Court of Justice.</ref>

==References==
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{{Italy topics}} 
{{Europe topic|Government of|title=Governments of Europe}}
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[[Category:Government of Italy| ]]