Securing 'Functional' Legal Eternity in Italy: Parliamentary Procedures, Electoral Legislation and the Free Mandate for Members of Parliament
| Autor | Fabio Pacini - Giuseppe Martinico - Giacomo Delledonne |
| Cargo | Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at Tuscia University (Viterbo, Italy). PhD in Law from the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna - Full Professor of Comparative Public Law at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (Pisa, Italy). PhD in Law from the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna - Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (... |
| Páginas | 321-346 |
Licenciado sob uma Licença Creative Commons
Licensed under Creative Commons
Rev. Investig. Const., Curitiba, vol. 8, n. 2, p. 321-346, maio/ago. 2021.
Revista de Investigações Constitucionais
ISSN 2359-5639
DOI: 10.5380/rinc.v8i2.72900
321
Securing “Functional” Legal Eternity in Italy:
Parliamentary Procedures, Electoral Legislation and
the Free Mandate for Members of Parliament*
Garantindo a eternidade jurídica “funcional” na Itália:
procedimentos parlamentares, legislação eleitoral e
mandato livre para membros do Parlamento
FABIO PACINI I, **
I Tuscia University (Viterbo, Italy)
fabio.pacini@santannapisa.it
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8638-1315
GIUSEPPE MARTINICO II, ***
II Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Pisa, Italy)
giuseppe.martinico@santannapisa.it
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2003-3745
GIACOMO DELLEDONNE II, ****
II Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Pisa, Italy)
giacomo.delledonne@santannapisa.it
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0162-714X
Recebido/Received: 15.04.2020 / April 15th, 2020
Aprovado/Approved: 24.11.2020 / November 24th, 2020
Como citar esse artigo/How to cite this article: : PACINI, Fabio; MARTINICO, Giuseppe; DALLEDONNE, Giacomo. Securing “Functional”
Legal Eternity in Italy: Parliamentary Procedures, Electoral Legislation and the Free Mandate for Members of Parliament. Revista de
Investigações Constitucionais, Curitiba, vol. 8, n. 2, p. 321-346, maio/ago. 2021. DOI: 10.5380/rinc.v8i2.72900.
* This article is the result of the joint reflection of the authors. Nevertheless, sections 3 and 6 should be attributed to Fabio Pacini,
sections 2 and 5 to Giuseppe Martinico and section 4 to Giacomo Delledonne; paragraph 1 was written by the authors together.
** Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at Tuscia University (Viterbo, Italy). PhD in Law from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna.
E-mail: fabio.pacini@santannapisa.it.
*** Full Professor of Comparative Public Law at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Pisa, Italy). PhD in Law from the Scuola Superiore
Sant’Anna. E-mail: giuseppe.martinico@santannapisa.it.
**** Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (Pisa, Italy). PhD in Law from the Scuola Superiore
Sant’Anna. E-mail: giacomo.delledonne@santannapisa.it.
FABIO PACINI | GIUSEPPE MARTINICO | GIACOMO DELLEDONNE
Rev. Investig. Const., Curitiba, vol. 8, n. 2, p. 321-346, maio/ago. 2021.
322
CONTENTS
1. Research Goals; 2. Setting the Scene; 3. The role of parliaments and their “procedures” in the fra-
mework of European post-totalitarian constitutionalism; 4. Electoral legislation as a part of the cons-
titutional order: The involvement of constitutional courts in electoral law; 5. Free Mandate for MPs;
6. Concluding remarks; 7. References.
1. RESEARCH GOALS
In essence, our article aims to highlight the role of the preliminary assumptions
and basic tenets of western constitutionalism (e.g. the free mandate for parliamentar-
ians) in shaping the contents of constitutions and dening the scope of (in)admissible
change.
Our case study is Italy. Italy can be traced back to “post-totalitarian constitu-
tionalism”, as its constitutional framework mirrors what philosophers have called “the
memory of evil”,1 by excluding some principles from constitutional amendment. The
topic has regained attention in the light of the rise of new forms of populism, especially
1 TODOROV, Tzvetan. Memory as a Remedy for Evil. Kolkata: Seagull Books, 2010.
Abstract
This article addresses the subject of the free mandate for
parliamentarians in Italy in relation to eternity clauses or
inadmissible changes of the constitution, considering It-
aly’s constitution prevents amendments regarding some
of its principles. This sort of counter-majoritarian devices
protect constitutions from major changes and it gains
importance due to the rise of new forms of populism.
The article examines the relation between the elector-
al system and the free mandate for parliamentarians in
Italy, recently changed by populist forces. Therefore the
research outlines the context of Italian constitutional-
ism, and then addresses the role of parliaments and the
“procedures” in this scenario, reaching the subject of the
role of electoral legislation on the constitutional order,
especially regarding the involvement of constitutional
courts in electoral law. Finally, it discusses the free man-
date for MPs, showing how complex constitutional prin-
ciples are at stake, such as equality and representation. It
concludes that electoral law should be interpreted and
reviewed in the light of all the relevant constitutional
principles and also should be protected from populist
moves. The article uses a logical-deductive methodology
with legislative and theoretical analysis of the subject.
Keywords: free mandate; eternity clauses; populism;
constitucional change; electoral law.
Resumo
Este artigo aborda o tema do mandato livre para parlamen-
tares na Itália em relação às cláusulas pétreas ou mudanças
inadmissíveis da constituição, considerando que a Consti-
tuição italiana impede alterações em alguns de seus prin-
cípios. Esse tipo de dispositivo contramajoritário protege as
constituições de grandes mudanças e ganha importância
devido ao surgimento de novas formas de populismo. O
artigo examina a relação entre o sistema eleitoral e a liber-
dade para o exercício do mandato dos parlamentares na
Itália, recentemente modicada por forças populistas. As-
sim, a pesquisa delineia o contexto do constitucionalismo
italiano e, em seguida, aborda o papel dos parlamentos e
os “procedimentos” nesse cenário, chegando ao tema do
papel da legislação eleitoral na ordem constitucional, es-
pecialmente no que diz respeito ao envolvimento dos tri-
bunais constitucionais no direito eleitoral. Por m, discute
a liberdade para o exercício do mandato dos deputados,
mostrando como estão em jogo princípios constitucionais
complexos, como igualdade e representação. Conclui que o
Direito eleitoral deve ser interpretado e revisto à luz de todos
os princípios constitucionais relevantes e também deve ser
protegido de movimentos populistas. O artigo utiliza uma
metodologia lógico-dedutiva com análise legislativa e teó-
rica da matéria.
Palavras-chave: mandato livre; cláusulas pétreas;
populismo; mudança constitucional; Direito eleitoral.
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