Constitutional reforms in Italy: finding a balance between new regionalism and federalism

In the first part of this article, the authors illustrate in a comparative perspective the salient features of the Italian regional system and its evolution over the last fifty years. In particular, they underline the central role played by the Italian Constitutional Court in determining the way powers are allocated to the State and to the Regions. They then go on to briefly illustrate the main aspects of the 2001 constitutional amendment, which changed Italy’s regional system significantly. In the second part of the article the authors examine the proposed constitutional amendment of 2005 (defeated in a referendum in 2006), a reform that would have radically modified not only the territorial organisation of the country, but also the role of the Chief Executive and the relationship between the Lower and Upper Houses in the context of Italy’s rather unique bicameral parliamentary system. Finally the authors analyse recent trends in the federalising process around the world, a process that they considered characterised by ever-increasing asymmetry and implementation of the principle of subsidiarity.