The Italian Political System

Italy is a Parliamentary Republic.

The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947 and had effect from 01 January 1948.

It is composed of 139 articles (four of which were later abrogated) and arranged into three main parts: Fundamental Principles or Principi Fondamentali (articles 1–12); Part I concerning the Rights and Duties of Citizens or Diritti e Doveri dei Cittadini (articles 13–54); and Part II the Organisation of the Republic or Ordinamento della Repubblica (articles 55–139); followed by 18 Transitory and Final Provisions or Disposizioni transitorie e finali.

It establishes the citizen's rights and duties and the state's political order. Power is divided among the executive, the legislative and judicial branches; the Constitution establishes the balancing and interaction of these branches, rather than their rigid separation

The forces that enlivened debate in the Assembly fell into three tendencies, christian democratic solidaristic, socialist/communist and liberal. Each deeply anti-fascist, there was general agreement against an authoritarian form of constitution The result was that some aspects of the text (concerning marriage and the family for example) refer to Roman Catholic-orientated christian democratic themes, while others (concerning workers' rights for example) are more reminiscent of communist and socialist thinking. This has been repeatedly described as the constitutional compromise.

The text of the Constitution has been amended 13 times. Four amendments were passed during the thirteenth legislature (1996–2001), these concerned parliamentary representation of Italians living abroad; the devolution of powers to the Regions; the direct election of Regional Presidents; and guarantees of fair trials in courts.

In order to make it virtually impossible to replace with a dictatorial regime, it is difficult to modify the Constitution; to do so (under Article 138) requires a substantial majority in both Houses of Parliament and, in some cases, a referendum. Under Article 139, the republican form of government cannot be reviewed. Legislative acts of parliament in conflict with the Constitution are subsequently annulled by the Constitutional Court.

The President of the Republic is the Head of the State and represents national unity. He is elected by the two chambers of Parliament in joint session for a period of seven years at the end of which he can be re-elected. He appoints the Prime Minister and five judges of the Constitutional Court. He presides over the Supreme Law Council [Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura]. He can veto bills and send them to Parliament for a new inspection. He must be a native-born Italin citizen at least 50 years old.

The executive power is exercised by the government under the direction of the Prime Minister, also called President of the Council of the Ministers. He is appointed by the President of the Republic and chooses his ministers. The government must be supported by a parliamentary majority. All the ministers are jointly responsible for the implementation of the country's laws and can propose new bills to Parliament.

The legislative power is exercised by Parliament, which consists of two houses, whose members are elected directly by the people: the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati), has 630 members, elected by all citizens aged at least 18; only citizens of at least 25 can be elected; and the Senate of the Republic (Senato della Repubblica), comprising 315 members elected by all citizens aged 25 or over and must be al least 40 years old. and a small number of senators for life, some of whom are former Presidents. Both houses are elected for a maximum of five years, but they may be dissolved before the expiration of their normal term. All bills must be passed by both Houses before being turned into laws.

The magistrature is independent of executive and legislative powers and is governed by its own Supreme Law Council. Another supreme council is the Constitutional Court: it is made up of 15 judges in office for 9 years, who must decide the constitutionality of laws and the conflicts between the State's powers.