Region of Sardinia Sovereignty Case
Italy Constitutional Court
Constitutional Case No. 365/2007
- Written by Mary Katherine Cunningham, JD
Facts
Article 5 of the Constitution of Italy provides that the “Republic, one and indivisible, recognizes and promotes local autonomy.” Under Italian law, regional charters serve as state constitutions within the Italian Republic, and these regional charters are construed by national courts. In May 2006, Sardinia, an autonomous region within Italy, passed a law creating a “Special Committee for the New Regional Charter of Autonomy and Sovereignty of the People of Sardinia” (law of 23 May 2006). The law established a new statute of sovereignty of the Sardinian people and emphasized the principles and features of the regional identity of Sardinia. The President of the Council of Ministers (plaintiff) challenged several articles the law of 23 May 2006, arguing the Italian Constitution provided for local autonomy, not local sovereignty. The President of the Council of Ministers argued the law of 23 May 2006 violated Articles 5, 114, and 116 of the Italian Constitution. The government of Sardinia (defendant) countered that Article 1 of the Italian Constitution provided for the popular sovereignty that was not exclusively reserved to the national government. The government of Sardinia further argued the law of 23 May 2006 was necessary to prevent the erosion of its sovereignty. The government of Sardinia argued that the references to the Sardinian people within the law of 23 May 2006 did not create a divisibility between the Sardinian people and the Italian people as a whole.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
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