Riassunto esame Fundamental rights, Prof. Cossiri Angela Giuseppina, libro consigliato The Constitution of Italy. A Contextual Analysis, Lupo Cartabia

IV Lesson - Fundamental rights

The government

The essential bodies belonging to the government are:

• President of the Council
• Ministers
• Council of Ministers

Principles

Article 95 IC

• Primacy of the President: “The President of the Council conducts and holds responsibility for the general policy of the Government”
• Collegial principle: “Ministers are collectively responsible for the acts of the Council”
• Ministers “are individually responsible for the acts of their own ministries”

Principles (II)

• Article 95.4 IC: “The law establishes the organization of the Presidency of the Council, as well as the number, competence and organization of the ministries”
• Law no 400/1988
• Legislative decree 300/1999
• Before royal decree no 466/1901 (!)

Forming the government

1. General elections or crisis
2. Sub-process ruled by non-written conventional rules (is it a constitutional convention/constitutional customary law?) → one or more consultations (presidents of parliamentary groups, heads of the Chambers, former presidents of the Republic)
3. ‘Incarico’ (mandate to form the Government) – [see other conventional rules]
4. Appointment of the President of the Council (Article 92.2 IC)
5. Appointment of the Ministers, upon proposal of the latter
6. All the Members are sworn in by the President of the Republic (counter-signature)
7. Vote of confidence within 10 days (Article 94.3 IC)

The aim of the process is to form a Cabinet (Government) capable of receiving the vote of confidence by the Parliament (both the Houses).

The role of the President of the Republic can vary according to the political system and the electoral system (a few constitutional rules with wide margin of maneuver). Where the political framework is more unclear and unstable, the powers of the President of the Republic become stronger and much more influential. Political forces and parties tend to rely on the president of the Republic.

Essential bodies

• President of the Council: head of the Council
• Ministers: head of a branch of the public administration
• Council of Ministers: collective body comprising both the Ministers and the President

When the constitution states that the government has to perform something, it always implies the contribution of the council’s ministers or the government. What these bodies have in common is the fact that they are helped by other administrative branches.

Non-essential bodies

Lots of non-essential bodies exist:

• Under Secretaries of State → It represents the Government in Parliament, acting as substitutes of Ministers. Ministers may delegate some functions concerning specific topics to these figures, but they also have a political role.
• Vice-minister(s) → substitutes of Ministers. They are merely vested with a political role.
• Ministers (Ministri Senza portafoglio) who do not lead an entire ministerial organization, but smaller structure (Departments of the Presidency of the Council). Even though these ministers share the same powers and functions of other ministers, they do not lead an entire ministerial organization, but they have a smaller structure. For example, they usually offer help to the departments of the vice-president of the council.
• Vice-President(s) of the Council. They are merely vested with political role.
• Extraordinary Commissioners → temporary functions.