1. THE FORMATION OF THE ITALIAN INSTITUTIONS
2. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION
3. GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURES OF THE STATE
4. THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE CITIZEN

 

 

THE FORMATION OF THE ITALIAN INSTITUTIONS

The Collapse of Fascism and the Return to Political Democracy

The fall of Fascism, which had come to power in Italy in 1922 with the `March on Rome', the resignation of the Facta Cabinet and Vittorio Emanuele III's invitation to Benito Mussolini to form a new government, was determined in July 1943 by the military defeat that became certain following the Anglo-American landings in Sicily. At a dramatic meeting on 25 July 1943, the Gran Consiglio del fascismo approved a motion of criticism and lack of confidence in Mussolini both for the conduct of the war and Fascist policies. This was moved by Dino Grandi and supported by important members of the regime. The King took this opportunity to act on a motion of the Gran Consiglio that was merely advisory, an initiative which he had failed to exercise on several previous occasions. Taking advantage of the Fascist conspiracy, the King therefore forced Mussolini to resign and appointed Marshal Badoglio as head of Government.
The King resumed effective command of the armed forces, according to the powers of article 5 of the Statuto albertino and this explains both the choice of Badoglio - based exclusively on his loyalty to the crown - and the subsequent ambiguous events: the Government's declaration of `continuing war', the 8 September armistice, the flight of the King from the capital and the abandonment of the army and country in its most tragic moment.
Between 1943 and 1945 Italy saw the Allied military presence in the South and the German occupation of the Centre and North, where with the Germans' release of Mussolini the Fascist movement recovered and the Repubblica sociale was created with German military support. The disintegration of an army left without orders or political direction did not permit an immediate and general reaction to the German occupation; many Italian soldiers were deported to Germany, while others fled into the mountains to join the first partisan groups.
In these years while in the south Badoglio's Government, after its declaration of war against Germany on 13 October 1943, tried to reorganize the slender means at its disposal, the antiFascist political forces formed the Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale (CLN) on 9 September 1943. The latter's immediate objectives were the liberation of Italy from the German forces, the armed struggle against the Fascist Repubblica sociale and the return to political democracy. The support of the Communist Party, with the ``svolta di Salerno'' led by Togliatti, for Badoglio's Government and the patto d'unità d'azione contro il nazifascismo reinforced the political role of the CLN and provided the foundations for a parliamentary republic.
In June 1944 the Badoglio Government was succeeded by the first government of Ivanoe Bonomi, which included representatives from all six parties of the anti-Fascist coalition: democrazia cristiana, comunista, socialista di unità proletaria, liberale, d'azione and democrazia del lavoro. While in the part of Italy liberated by the advancing Anglo-American alliance the structures of political democracy were being rebuilt, in the territory occupied by the Germans and the Fascist republicans, armed resistance was being organized by clandestine groups working behind the enemy lines, which was finally to widen into public insurrection. Besides providing support for the allied armies, the popular resistance focused the anti-Fascist political powers on common objectives and reawoke a conscience in the people that was rooted in the values of liberty and democracy.

From Provisional Governments to the Constitution

The Badoglio Government, by a succession of acts, had also suppressed the Partito Nazionale Fascista and its dependent organizations. An extensive shuffle of prefects was also carried out.
The new powers were concentrated into three forms: the crown, provisional government and united anti-Fascist committee. With the substitution of Badoglio and the formation of Bonomi's first Government the parties that had created the CLN formally assumed political responsibility.
In the meantime, Vittorio Emanuele III had conferred royal power on his son Umberto with the title Luogotenente generale del Regno. A provisional decree on 25 July 1944 formalized the Salerno agreement and established: 1) election by direct universal suffrage of an Assemblea Costituente to draw up a new constitution; 2) obligation of the members of the government not to impede institutional reform, postponed until the liberation of the country; 3) future ministers to swear loyalty to the nation, rather than the king; and 4) legislative powers to be attributed to the government, by way of decrees approved by the luogotenente.
In April 1945 a Consulta Nazionale was established to reinforce political representation. This body included representatives of the parties present in the CLN as well as those drawn from political groups alien to the committee. Its function for the government was essentially advisory, allowing a wider and more open consultation among the political forces, without assuming any `constitutional' role whatsoever.

The Assemblea Costituente

The `institutional question' was to be resolved outside of such bodies and the provisional decree of 16 March 1946, No. 98, gave the decision to choose between monarchy and republic to the people by way of a referendum. It also made provision for direct election of the Assemblea Costituente. The institutional referendum and elections for the Assemblea Costituente were held together on 2 June 1946. The electorate voted in favour of a republic (12,718,641 or 54.26% for the republic, 10,718,502 or 45.72% for the monarchy). In May 1946 Vittorio Emanuele III abdicated in favour of his son Umberto who, after the results of the referendum were proclaimed, went into permanent exile. The elections for the Assemblea Costituente saw the clear predominance of the three popular parties (democrazia cristiana 35% of the votes, partito socialista di unità proletaria with 20% and partito comunista with 19%).
With this vote two objectives were achieved. First, the final word was said on the institutional question that had divided the country and absorbed considerable attention on the part of the political powers, public opinion and international bodies. Second, it opened the way to the introduction of a constitution, which was to signal a new political order with the collapse of the Fascist regime and the return to democracy. On the 31 January 1947 the progetto di Costituzione was presented to the Assemblea, where it was definitively approved by a secret ballot on 22 December 1947 by 453 votes to 62. Promulgated by the provisional head of State on 27 December, the Costituzione Italiana became law on 1 January 1948. It consisted of 139 articles and XVIII transitory and permanent dispositions.

                                                                                                                           

GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURES OF THE STATE

The Political Apparatus in Society

Political Parties and Social Formations

One of the essential presuppositions to the concept of political democracy is the opening up of the area of direct political participation to the citizen. The constitutional recognition of the role of social formations, expressing the pluralist nature of society, allows for the active participation of citizens in the direction of public life. This is achieved not only through traditional channels of political representation but also by way of trade union and professional organizations, various civil societies and the increasing opportunities provided by regional, work, scholastic, health and local authority reforms. In a pluralist democracy therefore the juridical channels of consultation, direction and decision are many and diverse. The democratic state is in fact based on both fundamental juridical guarantees and an efficient interchange between public powers and civil society. To just such an end the political parties form a determining factor, deciding as they do which particular direction to follow. Italian political forces, in the face of a considerable concentration of powers and functions, are subject to a juridical discipline that forces the parties to co-operate with the public authorities mainly in an informal way and without adequate institutional support. In the same political party live together two tendencies. An institutional one, because the party has constitutional responsibility for important public functions, and `private' one, typical of free association and confirmed by its civil classification as a `non-recognized association'. Thus the free and autonomous internal nature of the organization and the prohibition on any public interference in the life of the political party must be reconciled with the always more frequent and complex institutional relationships and with the receipt of public funding. The latter having been introduced, not without controversy and resistance, by a 1974 law. It is clear however that a reasonable balance must be achieved between the private nature of a political party, which acts as an expression of pluralism in the selection and channelling of political demands, and the public or `institutional' nature, which has to provide an effective democracy. Obviously this entails particular responsibility for the party where the use of funds is concerned.

The Mass-media in a Democratic Society

Parallel to the role of the parties and other social formations in a social democracy that of the mass-media continues to be of growing importance. Freedom of opinion and of the press is a constitutional right that, furthermore, was affirmed in the dawn of European liberalism. Technological developments have both underlined and transformed the rules governing newspapers and radio and television broadcasts. The public authorities in almost every country have had to draw up specific regulations to ensure plurality of information, to avoid a dangerous monopoly of the means of communication and to discipline access to the formation of public opinion. Although with a certain delay, Italy too has compiled guidelines for public financial intervention in the information field. This is not only to support radio and television services but also other information systems.

Public and Privat Service

The radio and television services originated as state monopolies, run by specially appointed bodies and presented two problems in particular: democratic control of the service and right of access, according to pluralistic guarantees. The change to a regime with both public and private services has raised the important question of defining the respective areas of competence and the way in which the entire system should be controlled. The Corte Costituzionale has ruled legitimate the presence of a private service alongside that of the public and thus raised the urgent problem for parliament and the government of providing the necessary supervision. The public radio and television service is governed by a parliamentary commission drawn from both chambers and an administrative council, formally appointed by the IRI, (Institute for the Reconstruction of Industry), with the approval of the government and political powers. 

Parliament

The Organization of the Chambers
The Double-chamber System

The Italian parliament is divided in two assemblies: the Senato della Repubblica (the Senate of Republic) and the Camera dei Deputati (Chamber of Deputies). The Assemblea Costituente was influenced by at least two factors when it decided for an assembly with two chambers. On the one hand it was considered opportune to establish political representation on a balance of power guaranteed by discussion between two assemblies, both of which derived their democratic legitimacy from direct election. On the other hand a procedural consideration was paramount as two chambers allowed for a major `reflection' in the execution of their functions and imposed a need for co-ordination that ought to secure at least two successive phases of debate.
Constitutionally the powers of the two chambers are equal and do not represent distinct social interests. The difference between them is so slight that it is possible to speak of an almost `perfect' double-chamber system. The major difference between them is the functional co-ordination of the two assemblies. Various institutional parliamentary reforms have been proposed to speed up their flow of work, which is often subject to procedural obstacles. Proposals have been made to introduce a single-chamber system, to drastically reduce the components of each assembly, or to introduce a form of specialization in the work with a more efficient co-ordination between the two chambers and their internal divisions.

The Parliament in Common Session Where the structure of parliament is concerned a general observation can be made that the chambers usually follow their own distinct functions. Only in particular cases, specified by the Constitution, do the two chambers unite in common session. The latter occurs for the election and swearing in of the President of the Republic, for the election of the constitutional justices (5 of which are nominated by parliament), for the election of a third of the members of the Consiglio superiore della magistratura and for the indictment of the head of State, the president of the council and the ministers. When it is necessary for the two parliamentary chambers to unite they sit together in the Camera dei deputati at Montecitorio. The Double-chamber Commissions The two assemblies also utilize a system of interchange and co-ordination through double-chamber commissions. These are composed of deputies and senators in equal numbers and correspond proportionately to the size of the different parliamentary groups. Double-chamber commissions are used for enquiring into cases of accusation, for directing and controlling the radio and television services and for intervening in the Mezzogiorno (Southern Italy), as well as for other controls and enquiries specifically set up by parliament.

The Senate of the Republic Under the Republican Constitution the Senate is an elected body, unlike when under the monarchy it was appointed by the king according to the the provisions of the Statuto albertino. It is elected, every five years, on a `regional basis' by uninominal colleges or electoral bodies, with the use of regional proportional representation if no candidate succeeds in receiving the necessary 65% of valid votes. The Constitution has fixed the number of senators at 315. To this number are to be added former presidents of the republic and senators, up to five, nominated by the presidents in office. These last are chosen among those citizens who have made an outstanding social, scientific, artistic or literary contribution to the country.

The Chamber of Deputies Like the Senate, the chamber is elected every five years. It is chosen by universal, direct, secret vote according to a proportional system of plurinominal colleges. The number of deputies is fixed at 630. For the election of deputies, Italy is divided in 32 electoral constituencies, each one having a number of deputies equal to the division of the entire population (based on the latest general census figures) by 630, the seats being assigned in accordance with the population of each constituency based on whole electoral quotients and the highest remainders.

Parliamentary Regulation The work of the parliamentary assemblies and the internal organization of the chambers are regulated by approval expressed through absolute majority votes made independently in each chamber. Parliamentary regulations for both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate were established at their first election, largely reflecting those foreseen by the pre-Fascist parliament, and underwent a widespread institutional and procedural reform in 1971.

The Officials Each chamber elects from its members the president of the assembly and his office officials, consisting of vice-presidents, quaestors and secretaries. The presidential office contains representatives from the different parliamentary political groups. The president carries out important representational duties, as well as organizing and di recting the work. He has a duty to ensure that the chamber over which he presides functions efficiently and that parliamentary regulations are respected. In the accomplishment of these tasks the president is assisted by the other members of his office and parliamentary functionaries.

The Parliamentary Groups The senators and deputies must declare to which parliamentary group they intend to belong. Any political group consisting of at least ten senators and twenty deputies has the right to be represented in parliament. The president of either chamber may also authorize the constitution of parliamentary groups composed of a smaller number. If there are not sufficient numbers to form an independent group, individual senators and deputies not adhering to any established group, are entered in a mixed group. These groups then feature as representatives of political factions within the sphere of parliamentary institutions. They form important elements in both organizing the work of the assembly and that of its commissions.
Furthermore, it is consultation among the leaders of these groups that selects the programme of work and its calendar. In fact, the required unanimous agreement between groups is seldom reached and the agenda frequently has to be fixed by the presidency.

The Permanent Commissions Much parliamentary work is carried out by commissions that are internal organs of both assemblies. The composition of these parliamentary commissions reflect the proportions of the political groups represented in the assembly. These permanent commissions are formed at the beginning of the legislature and can make laws and exercise control over policy andi nformation in their respective fields.

Session of the Chambers The parliamentary chambers hold ordinary and extraordinary sessions on the summons of the president. By law the sessions of the plenum are held in public. The public, guests and representatives of the press may watch from thea ppropriate reserved areas. For a session to be valid the necessary legal number must be present, normally this is presumed to be the case except where a request is made for verification or when voting is involved.
The work of parliament and its commissions is subject to ample scrutiny, not only through sessional reports supplied by parliamentary functionaries and the public right to attend the assembly but also through the use of closed-circuit video for commission proceedings. In addition, numerous journalists are accredited to parliament.

The Guarantees Underlying and Ensuring Parliamentary Liberty and Independence

The Prohibition of the Imperative Mandate The relationship between the parliamentary member and the political part from whose electoral lists he has been elected is complex and attempts at simplification can be misleading. The Constitution confirms the classical parliamentary principle that members of the chambers represent the nation and exercise their functions without mandatory restrictions. Parliamentary members are therefore neither the representatives of their electoral colleges nor the mandatories of the political party to which they adhere.

The Party Restrictions Nevertheless, modern political representation is characterized by the interchange between the parliamentarian and his particular party in the context of the influence exercised by political forces in the democratic state. So it is that the constitutional principle mentioned above has only resulted in a judgement of inadmissibility where cases of individual parliamentarians coming into disagreement with their own political parties have been concerned, even in the event of such a drastic political fracture as the splintering of a group. The structural weakness of the electoral-party-parliamentary group system and the uncertain boundaries of the political responsibility involved suggest the need for further reflection on this type of political representation and on the constitutional dynamics involved in the actual relationships between public institutions.

Ineligibility and Incompatibility The law establishes the cause for parliamentary ineligibility and the election of any such candidate is invalid. Causes of ineligibility are: the holding of certain offices (eg. regional councillor, president of a provincial administration, mayor of a commune with more than twenty thousand inhabitants, chief of police, prefect etc.); and being a member of the legal profession who acts for a foreign state or a private firm that has business dealings with the state.

Parliamentary Immunity Members of the chambers cannot be prosecuted for the opinions expressed and the votes given in complying with their mandate, nor can they be subjected to restrictions on their personal liberty other than in the case that a parliamentarian is caught in the very act of committing a crime. In order to make an arrest, carry out a search or any other penal procedure whatsoever involving a member of parliament, the investigating authority must first request the authorization of the chamber to which the parliamentarian belongs. Every request for permission to proceed against one of its own members is examined by the relevant chamber, assisted by a `junta' drawn proportionately from all the political groups. This junta can also decide to shelve the case without reaching a vote of the plenum.

Formation of Laws, Political Control and other Functions of the Chambers

The Legislative Function

Since the institution's earliest origins a typical function of parliament has been that of legislating. So it is in today's constitutional State that the legislative function prevails over the other parliamentary attributes. As set down by the Constitution, the legislative function in Italy is exercised by both chambers. Proposed laws must in fact be approved in the same form by both chambers independently. Any modifications proposed by one assembly must be discussed and voted on by the other. This `shuttle' continues until a single text emerges. The Constitution lays down two procedures: an ordinary legislative, one for the approval of formal laws and one supplemented by constitutional revision for the approval of laws modifying the Constitution. The latter case involves a more complex procedure and can also include a direct appeal to the electorate by way of referendum.

Procedure for the Passing of Ordinary Laws The right to propose laws is enjoyed by different categories: the government, who must debate the form of the law in the Consiglio dei ministri and obtain the authorization of the President of the Republic, through presidential decree, to present it in parliament; members of parliament, each one of whom can promote a legislative proposal; regional councils; the Consiglio nazionale dell'economia e del lavoro for matters involving the economy and employment; and, finally, a group of 50,000 electors. All of these complying with the specified form. The president of the assembly assigns the proposed law to the relevant parliamentary commission. It can be approved by ordinary procedure or by a decentralized procedure in commission. In the former case the commission examines the text during `a referral sitting' and forwards it to the chamber for approval; in the latter case the same commission considers the proposal's merits, without a vote being taken in the chamber. When this procedure is used the approval given is known as `in legislative or deliberative sitting'.
After the law has been approved by the two chambers it is promulgated by the President of the Republic, whereby he makes manifest parliament's passing of the law, orders its publication and demands its observation. The law is then inserted in the `official collection of the laws and decrees of the Republic' and published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale. Usually the law enters into force on the fifteenth day after its publication, unless specified otherwise in the text itself. From that moment the law must be obeyed and ignorance of it cannot be used as a defence, according to a principle of criminal law that is also applicable to all juridical norms.  

Political Control and the Chambers' Functions

Parliament exercises important functions of political and financial control over the government and public administration. The executive's activities, through the use of the parliamentary vote of no confidence, are subject to a careful political check. The Constitution specifies that if a `motion of no confidence' in the government is carried then the executive must resign, in this way parliament can revoke the confidence accorded to the government in the act of its investiture. However, in the actual functioning of the constitutional model, parliament does not make use of this formal instrument to force a confrontation between majority, opposition and government. This is because `crises' are almost always provoked by political relations within the majority coalition. The phases that precede the resignation of governments and the motions that determine them must be seen within the context of the role played by the political forces of the majority and their leaderships, rather than in the institutional relationships between the majority and the opposition in parliament. The chambers' function of political control is further reinforced by powers to enquire and obtain explicit information both through the appointment of public functionaries and experts and through fact gathering hearings undertaken by commissions.
A particularly important element of financial control is exercised by parliament having to give some acts formal approval. Among these is the state balance, consisting of the estimated budget, the final balance for the previous year and the finance laws. In addition, it debates numerous economic and financial reports and declarations presented to parliament by the presidente del consiglio and the leading economic ministers: ministro del bilancio, ministro del tesoro and ministro delle finanze.

The President of the Republic

The Figure and Role of Head of State in the Constitutional Model

The President of the Republic represents the nation's political unity and `guarantees' the constitutional powers. By the power of his message the President of the Republic is able to influence political and institutional direction, both within the institutions and the country at large.
The President has an important role as guarantor and political mediator when a government is being formed following a cabinet crisis. When he is convinced of the lack of `governability' the President of the Republic is also able to dissolve the chambers early and call an election. The Head of State therefore, in the Italian constitutional model, is charged with ensuring that the constitutional rules for the ordering of political and constitutional relations between the powers of the State are observed and with intervening to resolve any resulting institutional crises.

The Election of the President of the Republic

The President of the Republic is chosen from those citizens who possess civil and political rights and are at least fifty years old. The Constitution provides for this election by a special electoral college composed of the two parliamentary chambers, sitting in common session and joined by three representatives appointed by each regional council, with the exception of the Valle d'Aosta which is only entitled to one. Secret ballot is used and the successful candidate is elected by a two-thirds majority of the assembly in the first three votes or at least an absolute majority after the third round. Presidential terms are for seven years and may be renewed. Before entering office the president-elect takes the oath before the joint-session of parliament and it is the custom on this occasion for him to address the country. The position of President of the Republic cannot be combined with any other high office or function. In the case of impediment the duties of the President are temporarily assumed by the President of the Senate. When the impediment is permanent, as well as in the case of death or departure from office, the Presidente of the Chamber of Deputies must call new elections.

The Attributes of the President of the Republic

The Head of State fulfills functions connected with all the constitutional powers of the Republic. Where parliament and legislative procedures are concerned, the President participates in the formation of laws by the `promulgation' and can send back laws to the chambers for new consideration (suspended veto); he authorizes the presentation of proposed government legislation; indicates political elections and referendums; can ask for the extraordinary assembly of the chambers and, in consultation with their presidents, can order dissolution; and, nominates up to five life senators. In relation to the government and the executive function the President of the Republic is responsible for nominating the presidente del consiglio and, at his proposal, the ministers; he appoints, on the initiative of the government and in those cases provided by the law, the state functionaries; issues, after government deliberation, decrees having the value of law (legal and legislative), as well as regulations; and accredits and receives diplomatic representatives.
The Head of State command the Army forces, presides over the Supreme Defence Council and declares the state of war resolved upon by the chambers. The formal participation of the President of the Republic in the exercise of several administrative functions should also be stressed: the recognition of juridical appointments, dissolution of provincial and communal councils, legitimization of natural children, decision on recourse to extraordinary administrations and conferment of honours. In relation to the powers of justice, the Head of State nominates five justices of the Corte Costituzionale, presides over the Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura and can grant pardons and clemency.

Political and Juridical Responsibilities of the President

All the acts of the President of the Republic, including the exercising of his `own' powers, must be endorsed by the relevant ministers or presidente del consiglio so that, according to Article 89 of the Constitution, they thus assume the political responsibility. Furthermore, the President of the Republic cannot be removed from power on the grounds of political responsibility.
The only political control to which he is subject is that of public opinion and not being re-elected should he choose to stand. However, the force of political interest and the mass media on the President of the Republic should not be undervalued. The loss of political support, accompanied by unfavourable public opinion, can lead to the President of the Republic leaving office.

The Government and its Components

The Formation of a Government and Parliamentary `Confidence'

According to the principles of `parliamentary government' enshrined in the Italian constitutional model, the government assumes the power of political decision with the consent of parliament, which is expressed by a vote of `confidence' in the government by the two chambers.
The nomination process begins with a government crisis and ends with the swearing in of the presidente del consiglio and ministers by the President of the Republic. The second stage is that of parliamentary `confidence'. It opens with the presentation of the new government to the chambers, within ten days of nomination, and closes with a formal vote of confidence, by nominative appeal, in both chambers of parliament. When a cabinet crisis occurs the President of the Republic, according to a well-established constitutional practice, engages in political consultations with both individual state figures (former presidents of the republic, the presidents of both chambers and former first ministers) and representatives and delegations of political parties. At the end of these soundings the Head of State, if he judges that the political and institutional conditions exit for forming a government capable of winning parliamentary confidence, will entrust the creation of a cabinet to the designated first minister. Usually, the latter accepts provisionally until he has established, through consultations with the various political forces, the concrete possibility of being able to form a government supported by the majority of members of the chambers. The President of the Republic then nominates the presidente del consiglio or first minister and, on the latter's proposal, the individual ministers who all then take the oath of loyalty to the Republic. Within the ten days allowed by the Constitution the government must present itself to the chambers who, on hearing the declarations made by the presidente del consiglio, provide the vote of `confidence'.

The Structure of Government

The government is a complex organ composed of the presidente del consiglio and the ministers, who together constitute the consiglio dei ministri. Also belonging to the governmental body, although without constitutional provision, are the sottosegretari di stato (under-secretaries of state) who collaborate with the ministers on the basis of the latter's personal delegation. The unders-secretaries are nominated by decree of the Head of State, on the proposal of the presidente del consiglio following deliberation by the consiglio dei ministri, and swear loyalty in the presence of the presidente del consiglio. Various ministers participate jointly in the inter-ministerial committees that handle common issues. Some of these Comitati di Ministri have assumed particular importance, particularly in the economic and financial sectors: such as the inter-ministerial committee on prices (CIP), the inter-ministerial committee for economic planning (CIPE) or the inter-ministerial committee for credito and savings (CICR).
Ministers are divided, according to the position they hold, into those with and without portfolio. The former head one of the branches into which the public administration is divided: Ministery of the Interior, Defence, Foreing Affairs, Public Instruction etc. The ministers without portfolio form part of the government and have particular responsibilities rather than that of a ministery: minister for parliamentary relations, minister for communal politics etc. Within each ministery the direzioni generali are of particular importance in the structural organization, specializing as they do in one particular administrative sector. At the head of each of these direzioni generali is a direttore generale.

The Powers of the Government

It is the government who holds the executive function. The presidente del consiglio co-ordinates the actions of the various ministers and maintains unity of the general political direction, which is his first responsibility. The consiglio dei ministri decides on all the general policies of the government, with specific competence for all the decisions involving the collective responsibility of the executive. Individual ministers join in determining the government's political direction, participating at the sessions of the consiglio dei ministri and taking the decisions for their respective ministeries. The ministers also take responsibility for all the formal acts concerning their own ministeries and, collectively, in the consiglio dei ministri, for the government's own acts.
The government is in fact the holder of some normative powers: it decides the form of laws to propose to the Head of State, who must authorize their presentation to the chambers, and it approves laws by decree in cases of emergency and legislative decrees on the delegation of parliament. These `materially legislative' acts are then issued by decree of the President of the Republic. Finally, the government is responsible for regulating all the executive activity of the law and the administrative organization. Also government regulations, resolved in the consiglio dei ministri, are issued by the President of the Republic, under Article 87 of the Constitution.

Ministerial Responsibility

Ministers have above all a collective political responsibility for all the government's acts and for a large part of the acts of political consideration that involve the collective responsibility of the government. This responsibility can be tested in parliament through the no confidence motion, whose approval obliges government resignation. Parliamentary regulations have also recently introduced the individual political responsibility of a minister by a motion of individual no confidence.
As far as the juridical responsibility of ministers is concerned for offences committed in the execution of their duties, they are subject to the procedure of the ordinary magistracy and judged in the Corte Costituzionale, after having been accused by parliament. In all other cases juridical responsibility is instead decided by ordinary procedure, except for the need to obtain authority to proceed from the relevant chamber for a member of parliament. Ministers also assume civil responsibility for unpremeditated illicit acts or frauds committed against the State or third parties. In the first case judgement is made by the Corte dei Conti and in the second by ordinary jurisdiction.

Characteristics of the Public Administration

Moving away from the liberal free-trade origins of the Italian state, the public administration has passed from making a small number of significant interventions (fiscal, educational, large-scale public works, defence, public order and international relations) by authoritative means (administrative acts modifying without the consent of the third party their legal position by implementing an often discretionary act of parliament). It now makes a far wider range of interventions and uses new methods of action. Nevertheless, the public administration corresponds not only to the rules imposed by the legislators but to four rigorous constitutional regulations, one being substantial and the other three organizational. Article 97 of the constitution states that the public powers must conform in their actions to strict principles of good management and impartiality of administration. By `good management' is intended a complex of legal and non-legal rules, whose purpose is to ensure a real and constant balance between the public function and the citizens' fundamental rights while respecting the formal rules and those of economy, efficiency and correlation with the objectives. Ìmpartiality' is seen not only as a simple avoidance of inequality but rather as a system to ensure that administrative decisions take positive account of all the interests involved. The Constitution's Article 5, under the organizational heading, contains the rules for decentralization and autonomy. The first rule imposes on the State, in the exercise of its duties, the obligation to open up the administration to the citizens by entrusting to the organs dependent on the central powers the direction of those interests that are not considered of national importance. The second rule instead assures administrative pluralism, since it provides for politically independent administrative power, which are also unlike those of the State, to operate alongside the State's central and decentralized administration.
A third important element is contained in the distribution of competence among the necessary administrative entities: State, Region, Province and Commune. Article 118 of the Constitution, referring to the contents listed in Article 117 of the same Constitution, enumerates the competences of the Regions under ordinary statute and other constitutional level norms, while fixing the Regions' administrative responsibilities under special statute. This signifies that the minimum responsibilities of the Regions are rigorously fixed and the remainder are reserved to the State who can allocate them, by general laws, to the Provinces and Communes (Article 128 of the Constitution), as well as delegating particular functions to the Regions (Article 118 of the Constitution).
Finally, the Constitution describes a further principle of institutional engineering and that is political control by the citizens of administrative power. With the provision of the necessary administrative entities, whether State, Regions, Provinces or Communes, the constitutional charter displays a tendency to concentrate administrative powers on entities whose organs are democratically elected and who are, furthermore, subject to the critical scrutiny of the popular vote. Only residually does the Constitution permit explicitly for the Regions and implicitly for the State and local entities the possibility of creating dependent entities and functional administrators for the public interests entrusted to them. The rule, therefore, is that of direct political control and the exception that of indirect control through the exercise of the vote on the subjects from which the functional entities depend. As will be clear, these basic principles have to remain sufficiently flexible to reflect the rapid changes produced in the public administration by social and political events, which impose continuous adaptation on the administrative structure.

The State's Central Administration

The State, as the fundamental public entity, undertakes through its executive organs two types of activity. It directs general policy and administration, activities that very often overlap and are certainly not clearly distinguishable. After the establishment of the Regions the powers of the central administration were markedly qualified and reduced because significant areas of activity were entrusted to the Regions and the local entities. Put very simply, it can be said that today the State's political and administrative intervention relates to four large sectors. The first concerns general policies, including economic planning, budgetary controls, trade union negotiations for public sector employees, international relations and the direction and co-ordination of the Regions in specified matters. The second sector relates to financial policy and covers public finance, taxation, the treasury and money supply. The third sector is that of the political economy. To which belong industry and commerce, the mercantile marine, international trade, national transport, energy production, employment and social security and, finally, state participation in superintending the direction and investment of national funds in industrial, agricultural and commercial enterprises. The fourth sector concerns the policies inherent in the nationally essential services of justice, education, scientific research, defence, public order, post and telecommunications, civilian protection etc. This combination of public activities is entrusted to the organs of the government of the Republic that, in the strictly administrative field, are divided into elective and central bureaucratic organs. The first category belongs to the presidente del consiglio (president of the council) of ministers, the council of ministers, individual ministers and under-secretaries of state, as well as inter-ministerial committees. The second category of organs comes under the direction of the central administration. It can be said very roughly that the area of competence of the individual organs is regulated by law, so that strict rules on the distribution of administrative roles do not exist. Several very general constants can however be identified, one of which is applied by the Constitution to the presidente del consiglio dei ministri (president of the council of ministers).

- Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri: has a pre-eminent position in the government, watches over the conformity of action of the governmental organs to the pre-chosen political line, maintains unity of direction, stimulates and co-ordinates government activity; he presides over the cabinet and most of the inter-ministerial committees; and superintends personally, through an under-secretary to the presidente del Consiglio, some particular sectors of state administration.
- Consiglio dei Ministri: takes care of administrative issues of major political importance and tends to decide on the general direction of the administration.
- Comitati Interministeriali: these are composed of groups of ministers having similar or complementary responsibilities, whose aim is to co-ordinate actions or determine policies involving more than one ministery; the most important of these committees is the CIPE, for economic planning.
- Ministri: each minister supervises an area of administration and a network of offices, being the centre for referral and decision of State interests.
Currently the law allows for 19 ministeries, to which can ben added ministers without portfolio; the latter do not have an official organization and staff, but only a secretary, and do not possess an individual title of authority.
- Sottosegretari di Stato: the under-secretaries assist the minister in the running of his ministery, without being members of the consiglio dei ministri and having personal authority (there are however exceptions), but only duties delegated by the minister or his representatives.
- Dirigenti: these are functionaries of the State hierarchy to whom the law attributes particular external duties, either of type or value, and to whom the minister can delegate negotiation and decision of problems or the signature of acts; the acts of the dirigenti can be annulled by the minister, on the grounds of legitimacy, within forty days of issue.
The organs of government discharge their duties through administrative acts, consisting of decrees, resolutions of the collective bodies or decisions requiring the issue of a decree by the President of the Republic.

Such acts are subject to control by the Corte dei Conti for legitimacy and conformity to budgetary law before registration; when the court refuses to authorize registration the question is decided by the Consiglio dei ministri who can authorize it with reservation. Once the acts have been positively vetted they receive executive power. The central administration of the State does not end in the person of the State as in many areas there have been created independent State administrations, dealing with public services of a particularly technical nature or economic activities (eg. ANAS, National Road Board; AAMS, State Monopolies Board; A.P.T.C., Post and Telecommunications Administration etc.). These agencies, while having financial and directional independence, are subject to the power of the minister over the ministery to which they belong.
Equally the State has created a series of public entities that, with increased agility and specialization, care for particular sectors of State administration. Into this category of instrumental entities, tied to the government by direct controls, fall all the entities administering social security, the Bank of Italy, National Research Council, Central Institute of Statistics, etc. Also in this group are the entities for the public economy that however function in the private sector: National Electrical Energy Corporation (ENEL), National Hydrocarbon Corporation (ENI), Institute for the Reconstruction of Industry (IRI) etc.

Decentralized State Administrations in Italy and Abroad

The complex administrative State machinery for obvious reasons of functional efficiency cannot all be concentrated on the central government. Thus it is divided into local administrative structures that usually coincide with regional or provincial boundaries. The responsibilities of the local organs of State are generally restricted to matters of minor importance and tend to involve an application of law and rules with limited discretionary powers. The decentralized organs are subject to both normative precepts and the powers of the central hierarchy. The latter apply to the direction, arrangement, selection and annulment of the decisions of the local bodies.
National and international decentralization will be treated separately, even if embassies, legations and consulates are not technically decentralized bodies but belong to the functional divisions of the Ministero degli Esteri.

State Decentralization in Italy

The decentralized State apparatus underwent a reduction following the transfer of its functions to the Regions, since the areas of local intervention by the central administration diminished. On the other hand, new problems of co-ordination between the State and local services arose and the decentralized apparatus of the State was still needed for those functions that were not purely local and therefore not transferred to the Regions. The decentralized organs function through administrative acts where monocratic organs are concerned or resolutions derived from collective organs, endowed with executive power (the capacity to intervene authoritatively on the juridical positions of third parties). The law then qualifies them, case for case, as definitive (not subject to hierarchical revision) or non-definitive. We can now see which are the main decentralized State organs, distinguishing them by general and specialized sectors of administration. Within the first are the Commissario del Governo nella Regione, the Prefetto and the Sindaco. The Commissario del Governo (government inspector) resides in the regional capital. He supervises the State's administrative regional functions and co-ordinates them with the regional and local services. The Prefetto (prefect) is the government's provincial representative and has general powers for controlling and co-ordinating local interprovincial State authorities. He is responsible for public order and security and for organizing communal and provincial elections. In cases of necessity and emergency he assumes charge of buildings, local police, public security and civilian protection. He also has an informal function as mediator between public and private interests and in important collective conflicts (eg. labour disputes, economic differences between categories). The Prefetto also has a series of minor administrative responsibilities, though these have been notably reduced by the introduction of Regions and the transfer of new powers to local administrations. Finally, there is the Sindaco (mayor) who, besides being the head of the municipal administration, fulfills a role as local official of government. In this latter function the Sindaco is an official of the civil state and registry office, with powers of police jurisdiction in the absence of ordinary and military police stations and responsibility for public order. In emergencies he can adopt provisions for buildings, public order and disasters. He also fulfills functions relating to military conscription. Alongside these general organs are those with a specialized function, among which can be briefly mentioned the most important from the citizen's point of view:
- Questure, the provincial offices of the ministery of the interior. They deal with public security, the issuing of passports and resi dential permits for foreigners in Italy etc. They depend on the Prefetto and are headed by a Questore (functionary at the dirigente superiore level) who operates through Commissariati (inspectorates) or, where these do not exist, mayors, as well as through all the apparatus of the national police.
- Intendenze di Finanza, provincial offices of the ministery of finance. They deal with the administration of national property and resources, provincial treasuries and fiscal control and collection. They are headed by an Intendente di Finanza (functionary at the dirigente superiore level) who has, however, only an interchange function among the local financial officials who depend directly on the different direzioni generali of the relevant ministeries.
- Provveditorati agli Studi, provincial offices of the ministry of public instruction. They deal with the administration of nursery, primary and secondary schools and are headed by a Provveditore agli Studi (functionary at the dirigente superiore level). Universities, academies and institutes of higher education are instead juridically independent bodies.
- Sovrintendenze alle antichità, ai monumenti, alle gallerie etc., provincial offices of the ministery of cultural heritage. Their function is the protection and direction of important national cultural property.
- Uffici regionali e provinciali del lavoro e della massima occupazione, local offices of the ministry of employment and social security. The regional and provincial offices are headed respectively by functionaries at the dirigente superiore and primo dirigente levels. Their function is to supervise employment, compile unemployment lists, supply firms with the details of possible employees and check on social security provisions.
- Uffici provinciali della Motorizzazione Civile, Compartimenti di traffico aereo, Direzioni Marittime and Capitanerie di Porto have provincial responsibility for the circulation of road, air and sea transport.
- Ispettorati di Frontiera, Centri d'Immigrazione and Uffici Doganali control international traffic in and out of Italy. As has already been said, there also exist other offices of decentralized State administration (eg. the defence organization), corporations and firms that, for reasons of space, cannot be treated individually.

Italian Representation Abroad

The Embassies

The official state legations, commonly called embassies, are modern institutions. Those of classical times were never destined to continue; their scope was ephemeral, limited to negotiations or ceremonial contacts following an inconstant pattern. The modern mission is made up of diplomatic and administrative staff, a part of whom may be recruited in the place itself. Functionaries making a direct career in the national administration may also be included in the diplomatic list at the level of councillor or secretary. The diplomatic corps consists of accredited ambassadors, plenipotentiary ministers (papal nuncios and internuncios from the Holy See) and chargés-d'affaires.
The difference among these categories is the way in which they are accredited. The first two are accredited by the Head of State of the one nation to the other, while the third is accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the corresponding organ of the receiving country.
The minister of Foreing Affairs, in agreement with the Treasury minister, can nominate special diplomatic missions to international conferences or send extraordinary embassies to solemn occasions.
Also the heads of Italian permanent representations to international organizations (UN, NATO etc.) carry the rank of ambassador or plenipotentiary minister (UNESCO).
The functions of the diplomatic service are not easy to define without going into detail. Article 37 of the Decreto Presidenziale of 1967 states that ``the diplomatic mission undertakes, within the ambit of international law, functions consistent with protecting national interests, safeguarding citizens, handling affairs, negotiating and developing relationships in all areas between Italy and the accrediting State. The activity of the diplomatic mission is carried out, therefore, in the political, consular, migratory, economic, commercial, financial, social, scientific, technological, press and information fields. The legation also co-ordinates and, in specified cases, supervises and directs the activities of Italian offices and firms operating in the territory of the State of accreditation". The head of missions reserves for himself, from the functions listed, direction of the most important affairs, as for example the conclusion of negotiations. Instead, the major part of the formative work is carried out by his subordinates, councillors and secretaries. The diplomatic mission also supervises and co-ordinates the activities of the consular offices. Where the latter do not exist, the diplomatic mission has to protect national interests and safeguard fellow nationals, above all where conditions of life and work and social security are concerned. They also promote, assist, co-ordinate and supervise the activities of the associations, chambers of commerce and corporations of their own country in connection with national economic interests. Finally, they develop cultural relations and fulfill functions connected with their own national civil and notarial procedures, as well as in the administrative and jurisdictional sectors.

The Consulates The modern consular institution, understood as the juridical possibility of the State to protect with its own organs its citizens in the territory of a foreign State, originated in the ancient medieval corporations and in European commercial expansion in the Near East.
The consul, in fact, owes his juridical authority to international law. Like the diplomatic office, the consulate is regulated by international agreements concerning its creation, function, privileges and extinction. The actions of the consul, like those of the diplomat, are attributed under international law not to the person but to the State. On the basis of both practice and international law, consuls are divided in two main categories: career, first category or delegated consuls and honorary, second category or locally nominated consuls. The career consuls are permanent and exclusive State functionaries. The honorary consuls, instead, are chosen `in loco', from the citizens of the same State or those of the territorial State, for their capacity, acquired merits or outstanding nature; they do not belong to the diplomatic-consular profession and are not State employees, so therefore they may continue with their professional activities. Both career and honorary consuls form four classes: consul general, consul, vice-consul and consular agent. While the first two head independent offices, vice-consuls and consular agents direct offices (viceconsulates and consular agencies) depending on superior offices (general consulates or consulates). A consular office can only be established in a particular State on the common agreement of the foreign and host State. A unilateral decision is not sufficient, particularly as States may refuse permission for consulates to be established in parts of their own territory.
Consular functions are very varied and complex. An attempt has been made to summarize them under the headings in which the consul abroad represents, for his co-nationals, what in Italy are the prefect, police superintendent, notary, official of the civil state, captain of the port and director of education. These particular functions are:
- Economic: keeping up-to-date on economic local life, possible opportunities for national products, promoting initiatives for the increase of exchanges, assisting economic operators and collaborating with the commercial attaché of the national diplomatic representation.
- Assistance to co-nationals: advising and informing them of all useful help in connection with the local authorities.
- Administration: issuing and renewing passport, certification of acts and documents and repatriation of indigent co-nationals.
- Civil status: registering acts of birth, marriage and death, recognizing natural children, receiving declarations renouncing or acquiring Italian nationality and celebrating marriages.
- Notaril: issuing general and special proxies and receiving acts of last wishes.
- Jurisdictional: limited to acts of voluntary jurisdiction, as the protection of minors or disabled, conciliation of controversies among co-nationals, or contentious jurisdiction, as decisions in cases of controversy between crew members and the captain of mercantile ships.
- Mercantile marine: all aspects of merchant shipping are the object of very varied and complex consular activity of an administrative, jurisdictional, economic, political and policing nature.
- Military obligations: corresponding to those residing, internally, in the councils for military conscription.
- Educational: supervising Italian schools and national cultural bodies.
Among the particularly significant functions of the consul is that of consular protection physically or juridically of persons belonging by nationality to the State providing the protection (and exceptionally also to individuals not belonging to it). This occurs when the local authorities fail to fulfill their obligations under international law, as the State of residence, where the treatment of foreigners in general and citizens of that country in particular are concerned. The consul's formal complaint is made to the local authorities, whether these be government, municipal, administrative or judiciary. The consul's jurisdiction is limited to a defined territory, established by consular convention and applying only to certain persons (ressortissants) who are residents, visitors or travellers through the consular district. The ressortissants are principally the physical and juridical persons with the nationality of the foreign State and those belonging to other States who are linked to the foreign State by particular relations (protectorate, juridical tutelage) that are recognized by the State of residence. So that the consular functions can be accomplished with the necessary liberty and efficiency, the consul is accorded special treatment or consular immunity.

The Regions

There are 20 Italian Regions:

5 with special autonomy for ethnic, historical and peripheral reasons:

and 15 with ordinary autonomy:

Each Region has a statute governing its organs, their relations and means of functioning within the Region itself, while the general electoral system remains under State law. The statutes of the Regions with special autonomy are approved with constitutional laws, while those of the Regions with ordinary autonomy are resolved by the individual Consigli Regionali and approved with parliamentary laws. The matters entrusted to the care of the Regions are constitutionally defined. Those for the five special Regions being contained in their respective statutes and for the rest in Article 117 of the Constitution. While the areas of action for the Regions with special autonomy vary from case to case and are particularly wide, those for the Regions with ordinary statutes are the following:
- Administrative organization: ordering of the offices and dependent corporation; communal districts, local police.
- Public services: social assistance; health; craft and profes sional instruction; local museums and libraries; transport of regional importance; internal navigation.
- Economic development: tourism and the hotel industry; road maintenance and construction; public works of regional importance; quarrries, peat-bogs, agriculture; crafts; mineral waters and spas.
- Environment: urban planning; protection of fauna, hunting and fishing, forests and flora; defence of the soil; measures against pollution.
The Regions's legislative competence are however restricted by the need of the State to maintain overall unity. Regions with special autonomy are empowered for primary, secondary and effective legislation, while those with ordinary autonomy only for secondary and effective legislation.
The three types of legislative competence are distinguished by their limitations. Very generally it can be said that: primary competence is only subject to constitutional restrictions; secondary competence also to the fundamental principles contained in the State laws applying to the particular matter; and effective competence is limited by the specific State laws that the Region is required to apply, organize and integrate at a local level.

The Regional Organs

The regional entities have three necessary organs: Consiglio Regionale, Giunta Regionale and its Presidente.
The Consiglio is a collective organ, elected by proportional representation of the citizens every five years. Its function is to legislate, control and plan, as well as to elect the executive organs. In essence, the Consiglio decides on everything concerning the regional political direction.
The Giunta Regionale is the collective organ, composed of Assessori and Presidente, to which is entrusted, on an agreed basis, policy initiatives, financial proposals, principal acts of planning and ordinary administrative activity. Finally, the President directs the work of the Junta, puts into effect its political programme and represents the Region externally. The Regions' administrative activities are implemented by way of decisions made in the Consiglio Regionale and Giunta Regionale or through presidential decrees. In some of the latter cases signature is delegated to the relevant Assessore (councillor). The Regions' administrative acts cannot be executed until they have been checked by the Commissione Statale di Controllo sulle Regioni (Article 124 of the Constitution), presided over by the Commissario del Governo. This commission has general control of legitimacy and exceptionally (in specified cases) of merit; in the first case it has the power to annul and in the second to refer back to the Regions for re-examination.

The Local Entities

Alongside the Regions, the Constitution provides other administrative entities equipped with independent political direction. These are essentially the Comuni and Province but other local entities may exist. The administrative responsibilities of the local entities may cover a wide area and there is an increasing tendency to maintain at a local level all matters concerning the citizen that are not of national importance. The Regions are contributing, through delegation, to this growth in local power. The particular attributions of the Provinces are few and objectively of no great importance. Their compulsory obligations cover essentially provincial road maintenance and construction, provision of buildings and non-teaching staff for the institutes of higher education, hunting, fishing in internal waters, agricultural incentives, civil protection planning and some forms of social assistance etc. Their voluntary undertakings are chosen by the administrators and, despite the financial constraints, are today among the most significant of provincial interventions, involving mainly the support of cultural and sporting events.
By contrast communal powers are expanding to cover almost all matters of immediate civic importance between the citizen and the public administration. The Communes' obligatory duties concern urban planning, construction, municipal public works, preparation of industrial zones, provision of buildings and non-teaching staff for nursery and compulsory education, social assistance, health and public hygiene, right to education, communal road maintenance and construction, urban transport, control of public commerce, placards, street furniture, refuse collection, supply of water and gas, cemeteries, traffic control, urban police, communal housing, sewerage, public slaughter-houses, fairs and markets etc. To these are then added the optional undertakings that permit, within the limits of local finance, support for activities such as the theatre, music etc. In addition, there are the tasks delegated by the Regions and the decentralized State functions (eg. register of births, marriages and deaths, civil status and military conscription). It is clear therefore that the greater part of public functions relating to the ordering of the territory, social services and economic development is concentrated on the Communes. Due to historical reasons, Italy is divided into more than 8,000 Communes. These vary greatly both in character and size, going from metropolitan centres, to cities, to towns, to small centres (the majority) with a few hundred inhabitants. It is therefore obvious that the system cannot function uniformly and gives rise to some irregularities. The Consigli, Assembly organs of the Commune and of the Province, are elective. The respective executive organs of the Communes and Provinces are the Giunte Municipali and Sindaci, and the Giunte Provinciali and Presidenti. All these officers are elected for a fiveyear period by their fellow Councillors on the basis of their proposed programmes and can be voted out of office. While the Consigli deal mainly with administration (budgets, plans, programmes, large contracts, regulations, staffing levels and general policies), the Giunte have powers of proposal and execution and the Mayors and provincial Presidents represent the entities legally, supervise overall action and maintain unity of direction. The members of the Giunte, the Assessori, do not have individual responsibility, if not at a preliminary level, but the Mayor can delegate to them entire sections of administration, thus creating a sort of municipal department.
The Communes' function through deliberations of the collective organs and decrees by the Mayor or of the President of the Provincial Junta. Such acts are checked by a regional organ (the Comitato Regionale di Controllo) for legitimacy and in particular cases of merit may be sent back for re-examination before becoming effective.As has already been said, however, the real difficulty of local administration is that of reconciling the sizes of the Communes with the extent and importance of their duties. In the absence of an organized reform of local entities, there have developed, partly voluntarily and partly for legislative requirements, moves towards forming associations among entities. Communes, and particularly the smaller ones, often form co-operative associations, Consorzi, for the common provision of services or works of public construction involving their respective territories. In other cases it is the law that requires association: as for the Comunità Montane in the hill and mountain areas defined by law; and the Associazioni di Comuni for the provision of social and health services.