User:Glide08/Sandbox/Italian People's Republic

CONSTITUTION

of the

ITALIAN REPUBLIC

Approved by the Constituent Assembly

on December 22, 1947,

and effective January 1, 1948. ^

The Provisional Head of the State, in consideration of the decision of the Constituent Assembly, which approved the Constitution of the Italian Republic in its session of December 22, 1947, and in consideration of the XVIIIth final provision of the said Constitution, promulgates the Constitution of the Italian Republic in the following text :

PREAMBLE

Italy is a republic of the working people, which carries on the most glorious progressive traditions of the Italian Nation.

For centuries, the Apennine Peninsula has been divided and ruled by the Austrian Empire, the Savoy and Bourbon kings, the Pope, and a myriad of Bourgeois City-States. The Italian people have long fought for the abolition of this cruel and feudal division of their common nation, culminating in their heroic war of unification – the Risorgimento – in the 19th century.

On September 20th, 1871, after centuries of subjection, Italy has finally attained unity and recovered her eternal capital of Rome from the hands of the Papal States. But this progressive endeavor, true to our best traditions, ultimately bore no fruit, for this new Italian state was a mere extension of the Savoy fiefdom over the whole Apennine Peninsula, which continued to suffer from the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie and from the capitalist economic order with all their attendant evils, above all the nightmare of unemployment.

This state further betrayed its reactionay nature in 1922, where following the heroic victory of the Russian workers and peasants in the great October Revolution, Benito Mussolini – the mastermind behind the great evil of Fascism – has been given the task of forming the government.

When, in the Great Patriotic War, the great socialist state, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, has engaged in a glorious crusade to rid the world of the Nazi, Fascist regime in Germany, it has eventually made a goal to rid the scourge of fascism from its own homeland.

This noble goal has encouraged the formation of a far-reaching resistance, crowned by the Partisan movement, against the Mussolini Regime. The efforts of these Partisans to liberate Italy, combined with the zealous assistantce of Red Army, have eventually hastened the historic victory of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics over fascism, and the collapse of the Mussolini Regime itself.

These liberation efforts have signaled to the Italian burgeroisie that its end is near, and it has therefore made a colossal concession to the people – a Constituent Assembly, democratically elected by the people, through which they will take the matter of forming their state into their own hands.

However, not long after, the remnants of the old capitalist-landlord system, spearheaded by Alcide de Gasperi's so-called "Christian Democratic" clique, have betrayed the people and illegally robbed them of their newly-realized sovereign rights.

Thus the road was cleared for the furtherance of capitalism in our country, a grim fate only averted by the selfless and creative efforts of the Italian working people, cumulating in the glorious revolution of September 15th, 1948.

As a result of these efforts, the power of the capitalists and landlords has been definitely overthrown, a State of People's Democracy has been firmly established, and a new social system, in accord with the interests and aspirations of the great majority of the people, is taking shape and growing in strength.

The legal principles of this system are laid down the following Constitution of the Italian People's Republic:

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

Art. 1. Italy is a people's democratic Republic based on labor.

Sovereignty belongs to the people, who exercise it in the forms and within the limits of the Constitution.

Art. 1.A. Sovereignty belongs to the working people of city and country, who exercise it through their representative bodies of state power – the Parliament and the local people's assemblies at all levels.

All the representative organs of state power, from the Frazione, Municipio, and Quartiere people's assemblies to the Parliament, are elected by universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot.

Art. 1.B. Representatives to all the organs of state power are responsible to their electors for their activities.

The electors may recall their representatives before the expiration of the term of office in case the representatives betray their confidence.

Art. 2. The Republic acknowledges and guarantees the inviolable rights of man both as an individual and in the social organizations where his personality is developed and requires the fulfillment of the essential duties of political, economic, and social solidarity.

Art. 3. All citizens have equal social rank and are equal before the law without distinction of sex, race, language, religion, political opinion, or social and personal conditions.

It is the task of the Republic to remove obstacles of an economic or social nature which, by materially restricting the freedom and equality of citizens, impede the complete development of the human personality and the effective participation of all workers in the political, economic, and social organization of the country.

Art. 4. The Republic recognizes to all citizens the right of work and promotes conditions to render this right effective.

Each citizen has the duty to exercise in conformity with his own ability and choice an activity or function contributing to the material or spiritual development of society. The fulfilment of this duty is a condition for the exercise of civil and political rights.

Art. 4.A. The means of production may be owned by the state; by cooperatives; or by a private natural or private juridical person.

Land, mines and other mineral wealth, forests, waters, banks, roads, rail, water and air transport, post, telegraph, and telephones, communication, waterworks, natural energy, State industrial establishments, State farms and State machine stations, State commercial enterprises and communal enterprises and utilities, and the bulk of the dwelling houses in the cities and industrial localities, are owned by the state, that is, by the entire people.

Foreign trade is conducted by the state or under its supervision.

Art. 4.C. The right to private ownership of incomes from work and of savings, of dwelling houses and subsidiary household economy, of household furniture and utensils and articles of personal use and convenience, and the right to inherit private property, are ensured and protected by law.

Creative initiative in private economy is encouraged.

Art. 4.E. The state encourages the development of the cooperative organizations of the people. The property of the cooperative organizations is protected by law.

Art. 4.F. With a view to utilizing rationally in the interests of the people all the domestic economic resources and all potential resources, the state works out a uniform national economic plan, and strives accordingly for the restoration and development of the national economy and culture. The state carries out the national economic plan on the basis of state and cooperative ownership, and compels privately owned economy to participate in it.

Art. 5. The Republic, one and indivisible, recognizes and promotes local autonomies. It effects in the state services the broadest adminis- trative decentralization and adapts the principles and procedure of its legislation to the needs of autonomy and decentralization.

Art. 6. The Republic protects linguistic minorities through appropri- ate legislation.

Art. 7. The State and the Catholic Church are, each in its own sphere, independent and sovereign.

Their relations are regulated by the Lateran Pacts. Any amendments to the Pacts, if bilaterally agreed upon, do not require a process of constitutional revision.

Art. 8. All religious confessions are equally free under the law.

Religious confessions other than Catholic have the right to organize themselves according to their own statutes in so far as they are not at variance with the Italian legal system.

In accordance with the law, their relations with the State are regulated on the basis of agreements with their respective representatives.

Art. 9. The Republic promotes the development of culture and scien- tific and technical research.

It protects the landscape and the historical and artistic patrimony of the Nation.

Art. 10. The Italian juridical system conforms to the generally recog- nized principles of international law.

The juridical status of the foreigner is regulated by law in conformity with international rules and treaties.

The foreigner who is denied in his own country the effective exercise of democratic freedoms provided for by the Italian Constitution has a right to asylum in the territory of the Republic in accordance with the provisions of law.

Extradition of foreigners for political offenses shall not be granted.

Art. 11. Italy renounces war as an instrument of offense to the liberty of other peoples or as a means of settlement of international disputes, and, on conditions of equality with the other states, agrees to the limita- tions of her sovereignty necessary to an organization which will assure peace and justice among nations, and promotes and encourages interna- tional organizations constituted for this purpose.

Art. 12. The flag of the Republic is the Italian tricolor, green, white, and red in three vertical stripes of equal dimension.

The emblem of the Republic consists of a sickle and hammer against a five-pointed red star and a cogwheel, surrounded by ears of olive and oak, bound with a red band bearing the inscription "Workers of All Countries, Unite!".

The capital of the Republic is the City of Rome.

PART I. RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF CITIZENS

Title I. CIVIL RELATIONS

Art. 13. Personal liberty is inviolable.

No form of detention, inspection, or personal search or any other re- striction of personal liberty is permitted except by a duly authorized act of the judicial authorities and then only in cases and under the pro- cedure prescribed by law.

In exceptional cases of necessity and urgency, explicitly provided by law, the public security authorities may take provisional measures, which shall be communicated within forty-eight hours to the judicial authorities; and, should the latter not confirm their validity within the next forty-eight hours, such measures are considered revoked and lose all effect.

Physical and psychological violence against persons placed under some form of restriction of personal freedom is punished.

The maximum duration of preventive detention is specified by law.

Art. 14. Personal domicile is inviolable.

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No inspection, search, or sequestration may be carried out, except in cases and under procedures prescribed by law and in accordance with the guarantees prescribed for the protection of personal liberty.

Investigations and inspections for reasons of public health or safety or for fiscal or economic reasons are regulated by special legislation.

Art. 15. Freedom and secrecy of correspondence and of every other form of communication are inviolable.

Limitations thereon may be effected only by a duly authorized act of the judicial authorities in accordance with the guarantees prescribed by law.

Art. 16. Every citizen may move and reside freely in any part of the national territory, within the general limits established by law for reasons of public health or security. In no case shall a restriction be established for political reasons.

Every citizen has the right to leave the territory of the Republic and to re-enter it, provided the obligations of law are respected.

Art. 17. Citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms.

Previous notice shall not be required for meetings, even if held in places open to the public.

The authorities must be given previous notice of meetings to be held in public places and may forbid them, but only for proven reasons of se- curity and public safety.

Art. 18. Citizens have the right freely to form associations, without authorization, for ends which are not forbidden to individuals by penal law.

Secret associations and those which pursue, even indirectly, political ends through organizations of a military character are prohibited.

Art. 19. All persons have the right freely to profess their own religious faith, in any individual or collective form, to proselytize on its behalf, and to perform in private and in public acts of worship, provided the rites are not contrary to public morals.

Art. 20. The ecclesiastic nature and the rehgious or cultural ends of an association or institution may not give rise to special legislative limitations or to special fiscal taxation related to its establishment, juridical capacity, or any form of its activities.

Art. 21. All persons have the right freely to express their own opinions with the spoken or written word and any other means of dissemination.

The press may not be subjected to authorization or censorship.

Sequestration may be resorted to only by a duly authorized act of the judicial authorities in cases of offenses for which it is expressly authorized by the press law or in cases of the breach of rules which the said law pre- scribes for making known the identity of the responsible parties.

In such cases, when there is absolute urgency and it is impossible for the judicial authorities to intervene in time, sequestration of the periodical press may be effected by officers of the judicial police, who shall report their action to the judicial authorities immediately, and in no case later than within twenty-four hours. Should the judicial authorities fail to confirm such action within the next twenty-four hours, sequestration will become null and void and without effect.

The law may decree, by general rules, that the financial support of the periodical press be publicly declared.

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Printed publications, spectacles, and all other demonstrations which may be contrary to public morals are prohibited. The law establishes adequate provisions for the prevention and repression of violations.

Art. 22. No one may be deprived of his judicial status, citizenship, or name for political reasons.

Art. 23. No personal service or property levy may be imposed except by virtue of law.

Art. 24. All persons may take judicial action for the protection of their own rights and legitimate interests.

The right to defense is inviolable in every state and at every stage of the judicial process.

Destitute persons are assured, through appropriate bodies, the means to act and defend themselves before any court.

The law specifies the methods and procedures for the redress of judicial errors.

Art. 25. No one may be deprived of the right to be tried by the ap- propriate, legally constituted courts.

No one may be punished except under legislation which came into force before the offense was committed.

No one may be submitted to security measures except in cases provided by law.

Art. 26. Extradition of the citizen can only be granted if specifically agreed through international conventions.

In no case may it be granted for political offenses.

Art. 27. Penal responsibility is personal.

An accused person is not deemed guilty until sentenced.

Sentences may not consist in treatment contrary to humanity and must tend to promote the rehabilitation of the convicted person.

The death penalty is not permitted except in cases provided for by military laws of war.

Art. 28. Officers and employees of the State and of public agencies are personally liable, according to penal, civil, and administrative law, for acts committed in violation thereof. In such cases civil liability extends to the State and to the public agencies.

Title II. ETHICAL AND SOCIAL RELATIONS

Art. 29. The Republic recognizes the rights of the family as a natural association based on matrimony.

Matrimony is based on the moral and juridical equality of the spouses, within the limits established by law guaranteeing the unity of the family.

Art. 30. It is the duty and right of parents to support, teach, and educate their children, even if born out of wedlock.

In cases of inability of the parents, the law provides for the fulfillment of such obligations.

The law guarantees to children born out of wedlock a juridical and social status consistent with the rights of the legitimate members of the family.

The law regulates and limits the investigation of paternity.

Art. 31. The Republic favors through economic measures and other provisions the establishment of families and the fulfillment of their func- tions, with especial regard to large families.

It protects motherhood, mfancy, and youth, encouraging agencies necessary to this end.

Art. 32. The RepubUc protects health as a fundamental right of the individual and as a community interest and assures free treatment for the indigent.

No one can be obliged to undergo a specified health treatment except as provided by law. The law may in no case violate the limits established by respect for the human person.

Art. 33. Art and science are free and the teaching thereof is free.

The Republic prescribes general rules on education and establishes state schools of all types and grades.

Private groups and individuals have the right to establish schools and educational institutes without state support.

The law, in specifying the rights and obhgations of non-state schools requesting parity of status, provides for their complete freedom and assures to their pupils a treatment equivalent in every way to that of pupils of the state schools.

State examinations are prescribed for admission to the various grades and orders of schools and for the termination of studies and also for qualification for professional practice.

Institutes of high culture, universities, and academies have the right to self rule within the limits prescribed by the laws of the State.

Art. 34. Schools are open to all.

Primary education is compulsory and free of charge for at least eight years.

Capable and deserving students, even if without means, have the right to attain the highest grades of education.

The Republic implements this right through scholarships, grants to families and other types of assistance, awarded on the basis of competitive examinations.

Title III. ECONOMIC RELATIONS

Art. 35. The Republic protects labor in all its forms and applications.

It encourages the training and the professional improvement of workers.

It promotes and supports international organizations and agreements to affirm and regulate the rights of labor.

It recognizes the freedom of emigration, within the terms established in the general interest by law, and protects Italian labor abroad.

Art. 36. The worker is entitled to a recompense proportionate to the quantity and quality of his work and in any case adequate to the needs of a free and dignified existence for himself and his family.

The maximum duration of the working day is fixed by law.

The worker has the right to weekly rest and annual vacations with pay, which he cannot renounce.

Art. 37. Working women possess the same rights and receive remu- neration equal to that of men for identical work. The conditions of work must allow the fulfillment of their essential family functions and assure to mother and child special, adequate protection.

The minimum age for remunerated labor is specified by law.

The Republic protects the work of minors through special provisions and assures to them the right to equal pay for equal work.

Art. 38. Every citizen unable to work and without means of support necessary to life has the right to maintenance and social assistance.

Workers have the right to be provided with and assured of an adequate livelihood in case of misfortune, sickness, infirmity, old age, and involun- tary unemployment.

Disabled persons and minors have the right to education and to pro- fessional training.

The provisions of this article are carried out through agencies and institutes established or organized by the State.

Private assistance is unrestricted.

Art. 39. The organization of trade unions is unrestricted.

There may not be imposed upon unions any requirement other than that of registration with local and central offices according to the pro- visions of the law.

It is prerequisite for registration that the constitutions of trade unions establish an internal organization on a democratic basis.

Registered unions have juridical personality. Registered unions, represented as integral units with representation proportionate to their membership, may stipulate collective labor contracts which will be bind- ing on all persons belonging to the categories to which the contract refers.

Art. 40. The right to strike is exercised within the limits of the laws which regulate it.

Art. 41. Private economic initiative is unrestricted.

It may not operate in conflict with the public interest or in a manner causing damage to security, freedom, or human dignity. The law speci- fies the programs and controls necessary in order that public and private economic activities may be directed and co-ordinated toward social ends.

Art. 42. Property is public or private. Economic assets belong to the State, to institutions, or to private persons.

Private property is recognized and guaranteed by law, which specifies the modes of acquisition and enjoyment thereof, as well as its limits, in order to assure its social function and to render it accessible to all.

In the cases provided for by law, and on the basis of compensation, private property may be expropriated for reasons of public interest.

The law establishes the norms and the limits of succession by descent and distribution and by testamentary disposition, and the rights of the State with respect to inheritances.

Art. 43. For the general welfare, the law msiy, by means of expropria- tion and against indemnification, originally reserve or transfer to public agencies or to groups of workers or of consumers certain enterprises or categories of enterprise which relate to essential public services or to sources of energy or to monopolistic conditions and which are of pre- eminent general interest in character.

Art. 44. In order to achieve the rational exploitation of the soil and to establish equitable social relations, the law imposes obligations and controls upon private land ownership, limits its area according to regions and agricultural zones, promotes and imposes land reclamation, the transformation of the latifondo and the formation of new productive units. The law assists small and medium property.

Special measures in favor of mountainous districts shall be taken by law.

Art. 45. The Republic recognizes the social function of co-operatives of a mutual nature, not designed to serve ends of private speculation.

The law promotes and encourages their development through the most appropriate means and, through the necessary supervision, assures their character and the achievement of their aims.

The law provides for the protection and development of artisan trades.

Art. 46. In order to promote the social and economic improvement of labor, and in accordance with the requirements of production, the Re- public recognizes the right of workers to participate, by the methods and within the limits established by laws, in the management of enter- prises.

Art. 47. The Republic encourages and protects all forms of savings. It regulates, co-ordinates, and controls the operation of credit. It en- courages the investment of the people's savings in home ownership, in the direct ownership of cultivable land, and directly and indirectly in stocks of the great productive enterprises of the country.

Title IV. POLITICAL RELATIONS

Art. 48. All citizens of both sexes having attained the age of majority have the right to suffrage.

The vote is personal and equal, free and secret. Exercise thereof is a civic duty.

No limitation on the right to vote may be established except for civil incapacity or as a consequence of an irrevocable penal sentence or in cases of moral turpitude as determined by law.

Art. 49. All citizens have the right freely to organize themselves in parties in order to co-operate in a democratic w-ay in determining national policy.

The most active and politically-conscious citizens in the ranks of the working class and other sections of the working people have to right to organize themselves in the Communist Party of Italy.

The Communist Party of Italy is the vanguard of the working people in their struggle to strengthen and develop the People's Democratic order and is the leading core of all organizations of the working people, both public and state.

Abuse of the rights granted by the Constitution for the purpose of altering or undermining the People's Democratic order is a heinous crime punishable by law.

Art. 50. All citizens may present petitions to the chambers to request the passage of legislation or to express mutual needs.

Art. 51. All citizens of both sexes may hold public offices and elective positions in conditions of equality, in accordance with the requirements established by law.

For admission to public offices and elective functions, the law may grant equality of treatment to Italian citizens not residing in the Republic.

Whoever may be called to fulfill public elective functions shall have the right to devote the time necessary to their exercise and to retain his place of employment.

Art. 52. The defense of the country is the sacred duty of the citizen.

Military service is compulsory within the limits and provisions established by law. Its fulfillment does not prejudice the citizen's employment status nor the exercise of his political rights.

The organization of the armed forces conforms to the democratic spirit of the country.

Art. 53. All persons are bound to assist in meeting public expenses in proportion to their capacity to contribute.

The fiscal system is predicated on a progressive scale.

Art. 54. All citizens have the duty to be faithful to the Republic and to observe its Constitution and its laws.

Citizens entrusted with public functions have the duty to fulfill them with conscientiousness and honor, taking oath in cases prescribed by law.

PART II. STRUCTURE OF THE REPUBLIC

Title I. THE PARLIAMENT

Section I. The Chambers.

Art. 54.A. Parliament is the superior organ of State authority.

As the highest expression of the will of the working people, it exercises all rights vested in the Italian People's Republic, in so far as they do not, by virtue of the Constitution, come within the jurisdiction of organs of the Italian People's Republic that are accountable to Parliament, that is, the Council of the Republic, the Council of Ministers and the Ministries.

Art. 55. Parliament is composed of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic.

Parliament meets in joint session of the members of both chambers only in the cases provided for by the Constitution.

Art. 56. The Chamber of Deputies is elected by universal and direct suffrage on the basis of one deputy for every eighty thousand inhabitants or for a fraction greater than forty thousand.

All voters who have attained twenty-five years of age on the day of the elections are eligible to become deputies.

Art. 57. The Senate of the Republic is elected on a regional basis.

To each region is assigned one senator for every two hundred thousand inhabitants or fractions over one hundred thousand.

No region may have less than six senators. The Val d'Aosta has one senator only.

Art. 58. Deputies and Senators are elected by universal and direct ballot by voters over twenty-five years of age by universal and direct suffrage.

Voters who have attained their fortieth year are eligible to become senators.

Art. 59. Whoever has been President of the Republic becomes senator by right and for life, unless he declines the office.

The President of the Republic may appoint as senator for life five citizens who have brought fame to the country by exceptional merit in the social, scientific, artistic, or Uterary fields.

Art. 60. The Chamber of Deputies is elected for five years and the Senate of the Republic for six.

Parliament is elected for four years.

The life of each chamber may not be extended except by law and only in the event of war.

Art. 61. The elections of the new chambers take place within seventy days after the termination of the preceding chambers. The first meeting takes place not later than the twentieth day after the elections.

Until the new chambers have met, the powers of the preceding chambers are extended.

Art. 62. The chambers convene automatically on the first non-holiday of February and October.

Each chamber may be convened in extraordinary session on the initiative of its president or of the President of the Republic Council of the Republic or of a third of the members of the chamber.

When one chamber meets in extraordinary session the other is also automatically convened.

Art. 63. Each chamber elects from its members its president and the staff of the presidency.

Whenever Parliament sits in joint session, its president and the staff of the presidency are those of the Chamber of Deputies.

Art. 64. Each chamber adopts its regulations by an absolute majority of its members.

Meetings are public; however, either of the two chambers and the joint session of Parliament may decide to meet in secret session.

The decisions of each chamber and of Parliament are not valid unless the majority of their members is present and unless they are approved by a majority of those present, except when a special form of majority is prescribed by the Constitution.

The members of the government and the Council of the Republic, even if they do not belong to the chambers, have the right, and, if requested, the obligation to be present at the sessions. They must be heard whenever they so request.

Art. 65. The law determines cases of ineligibility and unfitness for office of deputy or of senator.

No one may be simultaneously a member of both chambers.

Art. 66. Each chamber decides upon the qualifications of its members and upon supervening reasons for ineligibility or unfitness.

Art. 67. Each member of Parliament represents the Nation and exercises his functions without restriction of mandate. Abrogated.

Art. 68. Members of Parliament may not be prosecuted for opinions expressed or votes cast in the exercise of their functions. Abrogated.

Without authorization of the chamber to which he belongs, no member of Parliament may be subjected to penal proceedings; nor may he be arrested, or otherwise deprived of his personal freedom, or subjected to search of his person or dwelling, unless he be discovered in a flagrant crime for which a warrant or an order of arrest is obligatory.

The same authorization is required to place under arrest or hold in detention a member of Parliament, even in execution of an irrevocable sentence.

While Parliament is not in session, the Council of the Republic grants this authorization.

Art. 69. Members of Parliament receive an indemnity fixed by law.

Section II. Formation of Laws

Art. 70. The legislative function is exercised collectively by the two chambers.

Art. 71. The initiation of laws is vested in the government, in each member of the two chambers and in bodies and agencies on which it is conferred by constitutional law.

The people exercise the initiation of laws by the submission on the part of at least fifty thousand voters of draft laws drawn up in articles.

Art. 72. Every draft of a law presented to a chamber must be examined by a committee in accordance with that chamber's regulations and then approved by the chamber itself, article by article, and with final vote.

The regulations establish abbreviated procedures for draft laws which have been declared urgent.

Further, the regulations may establish in what cases and manner the examination and approval of draft laws are entrusted to committees, including permanent ones, composed so as to reflect the proportion of parliamentary groups. Even in such cases, up to the moment of its approval, the draft law is referred to the chamber, if the government or one-tenth of the members of the chamber, or one-fifth of the committee request that it be discussed or voted upon by the chamber itself or that it be submitted to its final approval by simple declaration of vote. The regulations determine the extent to which the records of the committee shall be open to the public.

The normal procedure for examination and direct approval by the chamber is always adopted for draft laws dealing with constitutional and electoral questions, or for those relating to a delegation of legislative power, to authorization to ratify international treaties, and to the ap- proval of budgets and financial measures.

Art. 73. Laws are promulgated by the President of the Republic President of the Council of the Republic within one month of their approval.

If the chambers declare the urgency thereof, each by an absolute majority of its members, a law may be promulgated within the time limit set therein.

Laws are published directly after promulgation and become effective fifteen days after their publication unless the laws themselves establish a different time limit.

Art. 74. The President of the Republic President of the Council of the Republic, before the promulgation of a law, may transmit to the chamber a duly considered message requesting a new decision.

If the chambers approve the law once again, it must be promulgated.

Art. 75. A popular referendum is called in order to decide upon the total or partial repeal of a law, or an act having the value of a law, whenever five hundred thousand electors or five regional councils so request.

Referendum is not authorized for budget and fiscal legislation, for par- don and amnesty, and for the authorization to ratify international treaties.

All citizens eligible to elect the Chamber of Deputies have the right to participate in a referendum. Abrogated.

The proposal submitted to referendum is approved if the majority of the eligible voters have taken part in the vote and if the proposal obtains the majority of the votes validly cast.

The law determines the procedures for carrying out a referendum.

Art. 76. The exercise of the legislative function cannot be delegated to the government unless directive principles and standards have been specified and only for a limited time and for definite objectives. is delegated to the Council of the Republic while Parliament is not in session.

Art. 77. The government cannot issue decrees having the force of ordinary laws without the authorization of the chambers.

When, in extraordinary cases of necessity and urgency, the govern- ment, on its own responsibility, adopts provisional measures having force of law, it must on the same day present them to the chambers for conver- sion into law. Should the chambers be in recess, they are expressly convoked and meet within five days.

Decrees lose their efficacy as of their date of issue if not converted into law within sixty days of their publication. The chambers may, however, regulate by law juridical relations which arose on the basis of non- converted decrees.

Legislative measures of the Council of the Republic lose their efficacy as of their date of issue if not converted into law within sixty days of Parliament being convoked. The chambers may, however, regulate by law juridical relations which arose on the basis of non-converted measures.

Art. 78. The chambers decide upon the existence of the state of war and confer on the government the necessary powers.

Art. 79. Amnesty and pardon are granted by the President of the Republic, on the basis of a delegation in the form of a law approved by the chambers.

Amnesty and pardon are granted by the Council of the Republic.

They may not be granted for crimes committed subsequent to the proposal of the amnesty law.

Art. 80. The chambers authorize by law ratification of those international treaties which are of a political nature, which involve arbitrations or judicial regulations, or which entail changes in the national territory, financial burdens, or modifications of laws.

Art. 81. Each year the chambers approve the budgets and the final report presented by the government.

Provisional application of the budget may be conceded only by law and for periods not exceeding in toto four months.

New taxes and new expenditures cannot be established in the law approving the budget.

In any other law involving new and larger expenditures, the means to meet said expenditures must be indicated.

Art. 82. Each chamber may institute inquiries on matters of public interest.

For this purpose the chamber appoints from its members a commission composed so as to reflect the proportion of its various groups. The investigating commission effects inquiries and examinations with the same powers and limitations as the judicial authorities.

Section III. The Council of the Republic

Art. 83. The Council of the Republic consists of the President of the Council of the Republic, six Vice-Presidents, one Secretary and twelve other members.

Art. 84. The Council of the Republic is elected at the start of each legislature by Parliament in joint session from among its members.

Extraordinarily, Enrico de Nicola is President of the Council of the Republic by right and for life. He may not decline the office, nor may he resign or be otherwise removed from it before his death.

Membership of the Council of the Republic is incompatible with any other appointment, save the office of deputy or senator.

The salary and allowances of the President are established by law.

Art. 85. The election of a Council of the Republic takes place within fifteen days after the first session of the new chambers.

Until the new chambers have elected a new Council of the Republic, the powers of the preceding Council of the Republic are extended.

Art. 86. Whenever the President of the Council of the Republic is unable to fulfill his functions, they are exercised by the most senior Vice-President of the council.

In case of the permanent disability, death, or resignation of a member of the Council of the Republic, the president of the Chamber of Deputies calls for the election of a successor within fifteen days, although a longer period of time is granted if the chambers are dissolved or if their end is less than three months off.

Art. 87. The Council of the Republic is the superior organ of state authority when Parliament is not in session.

It is the collective Head of the State and represents the unity of the nation.

It can send messages to the chambers.

It calls the elections of the new chambers and sets the date of their first session.

It authorizes the presentation to the chambers of draft legislation originating with the government.

It issues regulations and decrees having force of law.

It proclaims popular referendum in cases provided by the Constitu- tion.

It appoints state functionaries in cases provided for by law.

It accredits and receives diplomatic representatives, ratifies interna- tional treaties, with previous authorization from the chambers when necessary.

It commands the armed forces and declares the state of war decided upon by the chambers.

It may grant pardons and commute sentences.

It confers the honors of the Republic.

Art. 87.A. The President of the Council of the Republic represents the Council.

He promulgates laws.

He presides over the supreme council for defense established by law.

He presides over the superior council of the magistrature.

Art. 88. The Council of the Republic may dissolve the chambers after consulting their respective Presidents.

It may not exercise such faculty during the last six months of the legislature.

Art. 89. Abrogated.

Art. 90. The members of the Council of the Republic may be impeached by Parliament, sitting in joint session, for offenses committed in the exercise of their functions.

Art. 91. Upon assuming their functions, the members of the Council of the Republic take an oath of fidelity to the Republic and of observance of the Consti- tution before Parliament sitting in joint session.

Title II. THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC Abrogated

Art. 83. The President of the Republic is elected by Parliament in joint session of its members.

The vote is participated in by three delegates for each region, elected by the regional council in such a way as to assure minority representation. The Val d'Aosta has one delegate only.

The election of the President of the Republic takes place by secret ballot by a two-thirds majority of the assembly. After the third ballot an absolute majority suffices.

Art. 84. Any citizen having reached fifty years of age and enjoying his full civil and political rights may be elected President of the Republic.

The office of President of the Republic is incompatible with any other appointment.

The salary and allowances of the President are established bj"" law.

Art. 85. The President of the Republic is elected for seven years.

Thirty days before the end of his term, the president of the Chamber of Deputies convokes Parliament in joint session, together with the regional delegates, for the election of the new President of the Republic.

If the chambers have been dissolved, or if the end of the legislature is less than three months off, the election takes place within fifteen days after the first session of the new chambers. In the meantime the powers of the President in office are extended.

Art. 86. Whenever the President of the Republic is unable to fulfill his functions, they are exercised by the president of the Senate.

In case of the permanent disability, death, or resignation of the Presi- dent of the Republic, the president of the Chamber of Deputies calls for the election of the new President of the Republic within fifteen days, al- though a longer period of time is granted if the chambers are dissolved or if their end is less than three months off.

Art. 87. The President of the Republic is the Head of the State and represents the unity of the nation.

He can send messages to the chambers.

He calls the elections of the new chambers and sets the date of their first session.

He authorizes the presentation to the chambers of draft legislation originating with the government.

He promulgates laws and issues regulations and decrees having force of law.

He proclaims popular referendum in cases provided by the Constitu- tion.

He appoints state functionaries in cases provided for by law.

He accredits and receives diplomatic representatives, ratifies interna- tional treaties, with previous authorization from the chambers when necessary.

He commands the armed forces, presides over the supreme council for defense established by law and declares the state of war decided upon by the chambers.

He presides over the superior council of the magistrature.

He may grant pardons and commute sentences.

He confers the honors of the Republic.

Art. 88. The President of the Republic may dissolve the chambers or one of them after consulting their respective Presidents.

He may not exercise such faculty during the last six months of his tenure of office.

Art. 89. No act of the President of the Republic is valid if it is not countersigned by the ministers proposing it, who assume responsibility therefor.

Acts having legislative force and others prescribed by law are counter- signed also by the president of the council of ministers.

Art. 90. The President of the Republic is not responsible for acts committed in the exercise of his functions, except for high treason or for violation of the Constitution.

In such cases he is impeached by an absolute majority of the members of Parliament sitting in joint session.

Art. 91. Before assuming his functions, the President of the Republic takes an oath of fidelity to the Republic and of observance of the Consti- tution before Parliament sitting in joint session.

Title III. THE GOVERNMENT

Section I. The Council of Ministers

Art. 91.A. The government of the Republic is the executive organ of the Parliament and the superior administrative organ of the state.

Art. 92. The government of the Republic consists of the president of the council and of the ministers, who together form the council of minis- ters.

The President of the Republic appoints the president of the council of ministers, and, on his proposal, the ministers.

The council of ministers is formed by Parliament in joint session. While Parliament is not in session, the Council of the Republic appoints the president of the council of ministers, and, on his proposal, the ministers.

Art. 93. The president of the council of ministers and the ministers, before assuming office, take the oath before the President of the Republic Council of the Republic.

Art. 94. The government must have the confidence of the two chambers.

Each chamber grants or revokes confidence by means of a proper motion submitted to vote by roll call.

The government presents itself before the chambers for a vote of confi- dence within ten days of its formation.

A contrary vote of one or both of the chambers on a government pro- posal does not require the resignation of the government.

A motion of no-confidence must be signed by at least a tenth of the members of the chamber and may not be submitted to discussion until three days after its presentation.

Art. 95. The president of the council of ministers directs the general policy of the government and is responsible therefor. He maintains the unity of political and administrative policy, by promoting and co-ordinat- ing the activity of the ministers.

The ministers are responsible collectively for the actions of the council of ministers and individually for those of their own ministries.

The law provides for the organization of the presidency of the council and determines the number, the functions, and the structure of the ministries.

Art. 96. The president of the council of ministers and the ministers may be impeached by Parliament, sitting in joint session, for offenses committed in the exercise of their functions.

Section II. Public Administration

Art. 97. Public offices are organized in accordance with the provisions of the law in such a way as to assure the satisfactory operation and the impartiality of the administration.

In the scheme of organization of the offices, the spheres of jurisdiction, the functions, and the responsibilities of the functionaries are defined.

Employees of the public administration are appointed through competi- tive examination, except in cases established by law.

Art. 98. Civil servants are in the exclusive service of the nation.

If they are members of Parliament, their promotion depends exclusivel} on seniority.

The law may establish limitations on the right of magistrates, profes- sional soldiers on active service, functionaries and members of the police forces, and diplomatic and consular representatives abroad to belong to political parties.

Section III. Auxiliary Bodies

Art. 99. The national economic and labor council is composed, in the manner prescribed by law, of experts and representatives of the producer classes in such a way as to take into account their numerical and qualita- tive importance.

It is the consulting body of the chambers and the government for those matters and in accordance with those functions which are assigned to it by law.

It enjoys legislative initiative and may contribute to the elaboration of economic and social legislation mthin the limits and in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Art. 100. The council of state is the body for juridico-administrative consultation and for the assurance of justice in the administration.

The court of accounts exercises a prior control on the legality of govern- ment acts and also a review control on the management of the state budget. For the cases and in the manner established by law, it partici- pates further in the control over the financial management of those agen- cies to which the state ordinarily contributes. It reports its findings directly to the chambers.

The law guarantees the independence of these two institutions and of their members in respect to the government.

Title III.A. LOCAL ORGANS OF STATE AUTHORITY

Art. 100.A. The local organs of state authority in the regions, the provinces, the communes, and the Frazioni, Municipi and Quatieri are their respective people's assemblies.

Art. 100.B. The people's assemblies at all levels are elected by universal and direct suffrage.

Art. 100.C. The regional and provincial people's assemblies are elected for four years, and the people's assemblies of communes, Frazioni, Municipi and Quatieri for two.

The life of the people's assemblies at all levels may not be extended except by law and only in the event of war.

Art. 100.D. The elections of the new people's assemblies at all levels take place on the date determined by law.

If, after the termination of the preceding people's assembly, no new assembly has been elected, the powers of the preceding chambers are extended until the new assembly has met.

Art. 100.E. The local people's assemblies at all levels ensure the observance and execution of laws in their respective areas; direct all activities in economic, public and cultural fields; approve local budgets; ensure the protection of state and public property, the maintenance of public order and the rights of citizens.

The local people's assemblies at all levels adopt decisions within the limits of the powers vested in them by law.

Art. 100.F. The people's committees of the regions, the provinces, the communes, and the Frazioni, Municipi and Quatieri are the executive organs of the people's assemblies at the corresponding levels and the local administrative organs of the state.

Art. 100.G. The people's committees at all levels each consist of a president, a vice-president, a secretary and committee members elected at the start of each assembly term by the people's assembly at the corresponding level from among its members.

Art. 100.H. The people's committees at all levels carry out all administrative affairs of the state in the areas under their jurisdiction in pursuance of decisions and directives of the people's assemblies at corresponding levels and the organs at higher levels.

Art. 100.I. The people's committees at all levels are responsible in their activities to the people's assemblies at the corresponding levels.

The regional people's committees are likewise responsible to the Council of the Republic and the Council of Ministers; the people's committees at all other levels are likewise responsible to the people's committees at the next higher level.

All the people's committees are under the unified leadership of, and subordinate to, the Council of Ministers.

Art. 100.L. The Council of the Republic has the right to annul or revise decisions and directives of the people's committees at all levels, and to suspend decisions of the people's assemblies at all levels.

The people's committees at higher levels have similar rights as respecting people's committees and people's assemblies at lower levels.

Art. 100.M. Parliament has the right to annul or revise decisions and directives of the people's assemblies and the people's committees at all levels.

The people's assemblies at higher levels have similar rights as respecting people's committees and people's assemblies at lower levels.

Art. 100.N. Until the new people's assembly has elected a new People's committee, the powers of the preceding people's committee are extended.

Art. 100.O. The people's committees of the regions, the provinces, and the communes are provided with adequate departments, as established by law of the Republic, for the direction of their affairs.

Art. 100.P. The heads of departments of the people's committees of the regions, the provinces, and the communes are subordinate to the people's assemblies and the people's committees at the corresponding levels, to the corresponding departments of the people's committees at higher levels, and to the ministries concerned.

Art. 100.Q. The people's assemblies and the people's committees at all levels must always secure a broad participation of the local population in the discharge of their duties and rely upon their initiative.

Title IV. THE MAGISTRATURE AND PROCURACY

Section I Judicial Organizations

Art. 101. Justice is administered in the name of the people. Judges are subject solely to the law.

Art. 102. The judicial function is exercised by regular judges appointed and governed by the rules on judicial organization.

Extraordinary judges or special judges cannot be appointed. However, specialized sections for specific matters can be attached to ordinary judicial bodies, also with the participation of qualified citizens from outside the magistrature.

The law establishes the cases and the procedure for direct participation of the people in the administration of justice.

The judicial function is exercised by the Supreme Court, the Regional courts, the Provincial courts, the People's Courts, and the special courts established by the Parliament.

People's assessors participate in the hearing of cases and the pronouncement of judgment, except in cases specified by law.

Art. 103. Jurisdiction to protect legitimate interests with regard to the public administration shall be vested in the council of state and other organs of administrative justice. In certain cases determined by law, such jurisdiction shall extend to subjective rights.

The court of accounts has jurisdiction over questions involving public accounts and over other matters specified by law.

Military courts in time of war have the jurisdiction vested in them by law. In time of peace, they have jurisdiction only over military offenses committed by members of the armed forces.

Art. 104. The magistrature constitutes an order which is autonomous and independent of any other power.

The superior council of the magistrature is presided over by the President of the Republic.

The first president and the general prosecutor of the court of cassation are ex-officio members of the council.

The other members are elected two-thirds by all the ordinary magistrates from members of the various categories of the magistrature, and one-third by Parliament in joint session from university professors of legal subjects and lawyers with fifteen years of practice.

The council elects a vice-president from the members appointed by Parliament.

The elected members of the council remain in office four years and may not be re-elected immediately.

They may not, while they are in office, be registered in professional lists or be members of Parliament or of regional councils.

Art. 105. In accordance with the provisions of the judicial organization, appointments, assignments, and transfers, promotions and disciplinary measures against magistrates are the responsibility of the superior council of the magistrature.

The Supreme Court is the highest judicial organ and supervises the activity of all other courts concerning the administration of justice.

Art. 106. Appointments of magistrates and people's assessors are made on the basis of competitive examination election.

The law on the judicial organization may allow the appointment or election of non-career magistrates to all functions which fall within the competence of judges acting in an individual capacity.

On recommendation of the superior council of the magistrature and for exceptional merit, university professors of legal subjects and lawyers with fifteen years of practice who are inscribed in the special register for courts of superior jurisdictions may be appointed to the office of councilors of cassation.

The Supreme Court and special courts are elected by Parliament in joint session for a term of five years, from university professors of legal subjects and lawyers with fifteen years of practice.

The Regional and Provincial courts are elected by the corresponding Regional or Provincial counicl for a term of five years.

The People's Courts are elected by the citizens of the relevant commune on the basis of universal, direct and equal suffrage by secret ballot for a term of three years.

The organization of the court of accounts, council of state, administrative courts and military courts, is determined by law.

Art. 107. Judges are irremovable. They may not be discharged or suspended from service or transferred to another office or function except by decision of the superior council of the magistrature adopted either for reasons and with the guarantee of defense provided for by the rules of the judicial organization or with their consent.

The minister of justice is empowered to initiate disciplinary action.

Magistrates are differentiated from each other only by the diversity of their functions.

Public prosecutors enjoy the guarantees assured to their office by the rules of the judicial organization.

Art. 108. The regulations on the judicial organization and on each magistrature are established by law.

The law guarantees the independence of judges having special jurisdictions, of the public prosecutor attached to such jurisdictions, and of laymen taking part in the administration of justice.

Art. 109. The judicial police is at the direct disposal of the judicial authority.

Art. 110. The organization and management of all services connected with the administration of justice outside the jurisdiction of the superior council of the magistrature are the responsibility of the ministry of justice.

Section II Rules on Jurisdiction

Art. 107. The Courts of the Italian People's Republic are the custodians of the political and social system of the Italian People's Republic. They protect the achievements of the working people; they defend and support the State and its institutions, the economic and social order,the people's rule of law, social property and the rights of citizens, and they educate the workers to keep to the rules of socialist society.

Art. 108. Judicial proceedings must be conducted in the Italian language.

Persons who do not speak the Italian language must be guaranteed every opportunity of fully acquainting themselves with the material of the case through an interpreter and the right to use their own language in court.

Art. 109. Judicial proceedings must be public, unless otherwise stated by law.

Art. 110. The accused is guaranteed the right to legal defence. He may have a defence counsel, either of his own choice or appointed by the Court.

Art. 111. All jurisdictional measures must be duly supported by motives reduced to writing.

Appeal in cassation for violation of the law is always allowed against sentences and against measures affecting personal liberty emanating from the organs of ordinary or special jurisdiction. Exceptions to this ruling may be made only for sentence of military courts in time of war.

Appeal in cassation against decisions of the council of state and of the court of accounts is allowed only for jurisdictional reasons.

Art. 112. It is the obligation of the pubic prosecutor to carry out penal action.

Art. 113. Judicial protection of rights and legitimate interests against acts of the public administration is always permitted before the organs of ordinary and administrative jurisdiction.

Such judicial protection cannot be suppressed or limited for specific categories of acts or to special forms of procedure.

The law specifies which organs of jurisdiction may annul acts of the public administration in the cases and with the effects prescribed by the law itself.

Section III The Procuracy

Art. 112. Supreme supervisory power over the strict execution of the laws by the Ministries, and authorities subordinate to them, whether offices, institutions or other organisations, and local organs of the State authority, as well as by all public servants and individual citizens, is vested in the Procuracy.

Art. 113. The General Procurator is appointed by Parliament for a term of seven years.

Art. 113.A. Procurators of Regions are appointed by the General Procurator for a term of five years.

Art. 113.B. Procurators of Provinces and Communes are appointed for a term of five years by the Procurators of the Regions, subject to the approval of the General Procurator.

Art. 113.C. The organs of the Procuracy perform their functions independently of any local organs whatsoever, being subordinate solely to the General Procurator.

Title V. REGIONS, PROVINCES, AND COMMUNES

Art. 114. The Republic is divided into regions, provinces, and communes.

Art. 115. The regions are established as autonomous bodies having their own powers and functions in accordance with the principles set out in the Constitution.

Art. 116. Special forms and conditions of autonomy are granted to Sicily, Sardinia, Trent-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, and the Val d'Aosta under specific statutes adopted through constitutional legislation.

Art. 117. Within the limits of the general principles established by the laws of the State, the region promulgates statutory legislation for the following matters, provided such legislation does not contrast with the national interest:

Organization of regional offices and administrative agencies dependent on the region;

Communal districts;

Local police (urban and rural) ;

Fairs and Markets;

Public welfare, and health and hospital assistance;

Professional and artisan instruction and assistance to students;

Local museums and libraries;

City planning;

Tourist and hotel business;

Tramlines and motor lines of regional interest;

Roads, aqueducts, and public works of regional interest ;

Lake navigation and ports;

Mineral and thermal waters;

Stone quarries and peat-bogs;

Hunting;

Fishing in inland waters ;

Agriculture and forests;

Handicrafts ;

and other matters specified by constitutional legislation.

The power to enact regulations for the implementation of the laws of the Republic may be delegated to the regions.

Art. 118. Administrative functions connected with the matters listed in the preceding Article are exercised by the region, with the exception of those of purely local interest, which may be assigned by law of the Republic to the provinces, communes, and other local agencies.

The State may by law delegate to the region the exercise of other administrative functions.

The region normally exercises its administrative functions by delegating them to the provinces, communes, or other local agencies, or by making use of their offices.

Art. 119. Regions have financial autonomy in the form and within the limits established by the laws of the Republic, which co-ordinate it with state, provincial, and communal finance.

Regions levy their own taxation and are assigned a quota of state taxes, in relation to their needs for expenditures necessary to carry out their normal functions.

In order to provide for specific aims and in particular to improve the status of Southern Italy and of the Islands, the State grants by law special funds to single regions.

The region has its own demesne and its own patrimony, according to the procedure established by the law of the Republic.

Art. 120. The region may not institute import, export, or transit duties between regions.

The region cannot take measures which would in any way interfere with the free circulation of persons and things between regions.

It cannot limit the right of citizens to exercise in any part of the national territory their profession, employment, or work.

Art. 121. The official organs of the region are: the regional council, the regional committee and its president.

The regional council Regional People's Assembly exercises the legislative powers granted to the regions and the other functions conferred upon it by the Constitution and by law. It may propose laws to the chambers.

The regional committee is the executive organ of the region.

The president of the committee president of the regional people's committee represents the region; he promulgates regional laws and regulations; he directs the administrative functions delegated by the State to the region, following the instructions of the central government.

Art. 122. The method for election and the number of regional councillors and their ineligibility or incompatibility are established by the law of the Republic.

No one may be simultaneously a member of a regional council and of one of the chambers of Parliament or of another regional council.

The council elects, in order to conduct its activities, a president and the members of the presidential staff.

Regional councillors may not be called upon to answer for opinions expressed or votes cast during the exercise of their functions.

The President and the members of the committee are elected by the regional council from its own members. Abrogated.

Art. 123. Each region has its statute which, in harmony with the Constitution and the laws of the Republic, establishes the norms relative to the internal organization of the region. The statute regulates the exercise of the right of initiative and referendum on laws and administrative provisions of the region and the publication of the regional laws and regulations.

The statute is passed by the regional council by absolute majority of its members and approved by law of the Republic.

Art. 124. A commissioner of the government, residing in the capital of the region, supervises the administrative functions exercised by the State and co-ordinates them with those exercised by the region.

Art. 125. Control on the legality of administrative acts of the region is exercised, in a decentralized form, by an organ of the State in the manner and within the limits established by the laws of the Republic. The law may in certain cases permit a control over the merits of such acts for the sole purpose of obtaining, by due request, that the regional council re-examine a decision.

Organs of administrative justice of first instance are set up in each region in accordance with the organization established by the law of the Republic. Sections of these organs may be set up in seats other than the regional capital. Abrogated.

Art. 126. The regional council may be dissolved when it performs acts contrary to the Constitution or seriously violates the law or when it does not abide by the government's request to replace the committee or the president for having performed such acts or violations.

It may be dissolved when, through resignations or because of the impossibility of constituting a majority, it is unable to perform its functions.

It may also be dissolved for reasons of national security.

Dissolution is effected by duly authorized decree of the President of the Republic after consultation with a commission of deputies and senators appointed, as established by law of the Republic, to deal with regional questions.

The decree of dissolution is accompanied by the appointment of a commission of three citizens eligible for the regional council. This commission calls elections within three months and meanwhile provides for ordinary administration devolving upon the committee and for measures which cannot be postponed, to be submitted later to the ratification of the new council. Abrogated.

Art. 127. Each law approved by the regional council regional people's assembly is communicated to the commissioner of the government who, unless the government is opposed, must approve it within thirty days of such communication.

The law is promulgated within ten days of the commissioner's approval and enters into force not before fifteen days after its publication. If a law is declared urgent by the regional council regional people's assembly, and the government of the Republic approves it, its promulgation and entry into force is not subjected to the above delays.

Whenever the government of the Republic considers that legislation approved by the regional council exceeds the powers of the region or is contrary to the national interests or to the interests of other regions, it returns such legislation to the regional council within the time limit fixed for its approval.

Should the regional council approve the law anew by an absolute majority of its membership, the government of the Republic may, within fifteen days of its communication to the government, bring the question of its legality before the constitutional court, or before the chambers on a substantive question of conflicting interests. In case of doubt, the court settles the question of jurisdiction.

Art. 128. Provinces and communes are autonomous bodies in conformity with the principles established by general laws of the Republic, which determine their functions.

Art. 129. Provinces and communes also are areas of regional and statal decentralization.

Provincial areas may be subdivided into districts with exclusively administrative functions, as a form of further decentralization.

Art. 130. An agency of the region, established in the manner prescribed by law of the Republic, exercises, also in a decentralized manner, a control over the legality of the acts of the provinces, communes, and other local bodies.

In certain cases provided by law a control over the merits of such acts may be instituted in the form of a duly considered request to the bodies concerned to re-examine their decision. Abrogated.

Art. 131. The following regions are constituted:

Piedmont

Liguria

Abruzzi and Molise

Val d'Aosta

Emilia-Romagna

Campania

Lombardy

Tuscany

Puglia

Trentino-Alto Adige

Umbria

Basilicata

Veneto

Marche

Calabria

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Lazio

Sicily

Sardinia

Art. 132. Through constitutional law, after consultation with the regional councils regional people's assemblies, existing regions may be merged or new regions created with a minimum of one million inhabitants whenever communal councils communal people's assemblies representing at least one-third of the population concerned make such a request and when the proposal is approved through referendum by the majority of the population itself.

By referendum and through law of the Republic, after consultation with the regional councils regional people's assemblies, provinces and communes, if they so request, may be detached from one region and attached to another.

Art. 133. Changes of provincial boundaries and formation of new provinces within a region are effected by law of the Republic upon initiative of the communes and after consulting the region concerned.

After having consulted the population concerned, the region may, through its own legislation, constitute on its own territory new communes, modify the area of the communal districts, and change the names of communes.

Title V.A. PRINCIPLES OF THE ELECTORAL LAW

Art. 133.A Suffrage is universal.

All citizens of both sexes having attained their eighteenth year have the right to vote, without distinction of sex, race or nationality, language, religion, educational and residential qualifications, social origin, property status or past activities, political opinion, or social and personal conditions.

No limitation on the right to vote may be established except for civil incapacity or as a consequence of an irrevocable penal sentence or in cases of moral turpitude as determined by law.

All voters are eligible to become members of the people's assemblies; voters who have attained their twenty-first year are eligible to become deputies or senators.

Art. 133.B The vote is personal and equal, free and secret. Exercise thereof is a civic duty.

Each voter shall cast one vote. All citizens shall participate in elections on an equal footing.

Women shall have the right to elect and be elected on equal terms with men.

Citizens serving in the Italian People's Army shall have the right to elect and be elected on equal terms with all other citizens.

Art. 133.C Candidates for election are elected from electoral districts.

Each electoral district shall return one member.

In order for Candidates to be considered elected, they must recieves more than half the number of valid votes cast in the electoral districts. The law specifies the contingency procedure to be followed if no candidates recieves that amount of votes.

Art. 133.D The right to nominate candidates is secured to the following public organizations and societies of the working people:

Communist Party organizations

Organizations of other parties

Trade unions

Cooperatives

Youth organizations

Cultural societies.

The people exercise the right to nominate candidates by the submission on the part of at least two thousand voters of a nomination.

Title VI. CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEES

Section I. Constitutional Court Constitutional jurisdiction of the Council of the Republic

Art. 134. The Constitutional Court Council of the Republic judges:

Disputes concerning the constitutional legality of laws and of acts having force of law enacted by the State and the regions;

Conflicts of jurisdiction between the powers of the State and conflicts between the State and the regions and between regions;

Charges preferred against the President of the Republic or the ministers in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

Art. 135. The Constitutional Court is composed of fifteen judges ap- pointed as follows: one-third by the President of the Republic, one-third by Parliament in joint session, and one-third by the supreme magistra- tures, ordinary and administrative.

The judges of the Constitutional Court are selected from judges, even if retired, of the superior, ordinary, and administrative jurisdictions, from university professors of law, and from lawyers who have practised their profession for twenty years.

The Court elects its president from among its members. Judges are appointed for twelve years and are replaced in rotation according to the provisions of the law. They are not immediately re- eligible.

The office of judge of the Court is not compatible with those of member of Parliament or of a regional council, or with the legal profession, or any other profession or office specified by law.

In cases of indictment of the President of the Republic and of ministers, sixteen outside members take part, in addition to the ordinary judges of the Court. These are elected at the start of each legislature by Parlia- ment in joint session from citizens possessing the requisites for eligibility to the Senate. Abrogated.

Art. 136. Whenever the Court Council of the Republic pronounces a provision of law or an act having force of law as being constitutionally illegal, such provision or act becomes invalid on the day following the publication of the decision.

Decisions of the Court Council of the Republic are published and communicated to the chambers and to the regional councils concerned in order that they may, when they consider it necessary, issue provisions conforming to the Constitution.

Art. 137. The conditions, the form, and the time limit for the examination of decisions of constitutional legality are established by constitutional statute, as are the guarantees for the independence of the judges of the Court.

Other regulations necessary for the formation and functioning of the Court are established through ordinary legislation.

The conditions, the form, and the time limit for the examination of decisions of constitutional legality are established by constitutional statute.

No appeal against the decisions of the Constitutional Court Council of the Republic is admitted.

Section II. Revision of the Constitution. Constitutional Legislation

Art. 138. Laws for the revision of the Constitution and other consti- tutional laws are adopted by each of the chambers in two successive de- liberations with an interval of not less than three months, and are ap- proved by absolute majority of the members of each chamber on the second vote.

Such laws are submitted to popular referendum whenever within three months of their publication one-fifth of the members of a chamber or five hundred thousand voters or five regional councils so request. A law which is the subject of a referendum is not promulgated unless approved by the majority of the valid votes.

A referendum does not take place if the law has been approved by each chamber by a two-thirds majority of its members on the second vote.

Art. 139. The Republican form of government cannot be the subject of constitutional revision.

The provisions giving the office of President of the Council of the Republic to Enrico de Nicola by right and for life cannot be the subject of constitutional revision before his death.

TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL MEASURES

I. Upon the entry into force of the Constitution, the Provisional Head of the State takes the title and assumes the attributes of President of the Republic.

II. If at the date of the election of the President of the Republic all regional councils have not been constituted, the members of the two chambers only take part in the election.

III. In constituting the first Senate of the Republic, deputies of the Constituent Assembly who possess the constitutional qualifications required to be senators are appointed senators by decree of the President of the Republic, provided they :

Have been presidents of the council of ministers or of the legislative assemblies,

Were members of the former Senate, now dissolved.

Have been elected three times, including election to the Constituent Assembly,

Were removed from their seats at the session of the Chamber of Deputies of November 9, 1926,

Served at least five years of reclusion following sentence by the special fascist court for the defense of the state.

Members of the former Senate now dissolved who have been members of the national consultative assembly are also appointed senators by decree of the President of the Republic.

The right to be appointed senator may be surrendered before the decree of appointment is signed. Acceptance of candidacy at the political elections implies the surrender of the right to be appointed senator.

IV. For the election of the first Senate, Molise is considered a region proper, with the number of senators to which it is entitled on the basis of its population.

V. The provision of Article 80 of the Constitution in so far as it concerns international treaties involving a burden on public finances or modification of law becomes effective on the date of convocation of the chambers.

VI. Within five years from the entry into force of the Constitution, measures are taken for the revision of the present special organs of jurisdiction, with the exception of the jurisdictions of the council of state, the court of accounts, and the military courts.

Within a year from the same date, the reorganization of the supreme military tribunal is effected by law in conformity with the provisions of Article III.

VII. Until such time as the new law for judicial organization in conformity with the Constitution has been issued, the regulations for the present organization remain in force. Until the Constitutional Court begins to function, decisions over disputes referred to in Article 134 are given in the form and within the limits of the rules which existed before the entry into force of the Constitution.

The judges appointed to the Constitutional Court at its first establishment are not subject to replacement by rotation and remain in office for twelve years.

VIII. Elections to the regional councils and to the elective bodies of the provincial administrations are called within one year of the entry into force of the Constitution.

Laws of the Republic regulate, for each branch of the public administration, the transfer of governmental functions to the regions. Until the reorganization and distribution of administrative functions among local bodies has been provided for, the provinces and communes retain the functions already vested in them and also those which the regions may delegate to them.

Laws of the Republic regulate the transfer to the regions of state employees and dependents, including those of the central administration, when such transfer is rendered necessary by the new organization. On setting up their offices, the regions must recruit personnel from that of state or local agencies, except in cases of necessity.

IX. Within three years of the entry into force of the Constitution, the Republic adapts its legislation to the requirements of the local autonomies and to the legislative jurisdiction vested in the regions.

X. The general rules set out in Title V of Part 2 apply provisionally to the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia referred to in Article 116. The provisions of Article 6 in respect to the protection of linguistic minorities, however, remain in force.

XI. Other regions may be constituted through constitutional legislation within five years of the entry into force of the Constitution, in modification of the list appearing in Article 131, even without fulfilling the requirements set out in the first paragraph of Article 132, provided the obligation of consulting the population concerned is respected.

XII. The reorganization of the now dissolved fascist party in any form is prohibited.

In derogation to Article 48, temporary limitations of right of vote and eligibility are imposed by law on former responsible heads of the fascist regime, for a period not to exceed five years after the entry into force of the Constitution.

XIII. Members and descendants of the House of Savoy are not voters and cannot be appointed to public offices or fulfill elective functions.

Entry into and residence in the national territory is forbidden to former Kings of the House of Savoy, their consorts, and their male descendants.

Property of the former Kings of the House of Savoy, of their consorts and of their male descendants, situated in the national territory, is transferred to the State. Any transfer of or any legal rights acquired over such property which may have taken place after the second of June, 1946, is invalid.

XIV. Titles of nobility are not recognized.

The expression of titles which existed before October 28, 1922, remains as part of the surname.

The Mauretian Order remains as an order hospitalier and functions in accordance with the provisions of the law.

The heralds office is suppressed by law.

XV. Decree of the Lieutenant-General No. 151, of June 25, 1944, concerning the provisional organization of the State is considered as having been converted into law by the entry into force of the Constitution.

XVI. Within one year after the entry into force of the Constitution, measures are taken for the revision and coordination therewith of previous constitutional laws which have not yet been implicitly or explicitly abrogated.

XVII. The Constituent Assembly shall be convened by its president before January 31, 1948, to discuss the special regional statutes, the press law, and the law for the election of the Senate of the Republic.

Up to the day of the election of the new chambers, the Constituent Assembly may be convened to discuss, if necessary, matters falling within its jurisdiction under paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 2 and paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 3 of Legislative Decree No. 98 of March 16, 1946.

During this period the permanent commissions remain in function. The legislative commissions return to the government all draft laws received, with observations and proposed amendments if appropriate.

Deputies may still put questions to the government with request for a written answer.

In accordance with the second paragraph of the present article, the Constituent Assembly is convened by its president upon due request of the government or of at least two hundred deputies.

XVIII. The present Constitution is promulgated by the provisional Head of the State within five days of its approval by the Constituent Assembly and enters into force on January 1, 1948.

The text of the Constitution is deposited in the communal room in each commune of the Republic and remains there for the whole year 1948 in order that each citizen may take cognizance thereof.

The Constitution, sealed with the seal of the State, shall be included in the official collection of laws and decrees of the Republic.

The Constitution must be faithfully observed by all citizens and agencies of the State as the fundamental Law of the Republic.