At the Italian Constitutional Court.
November 7, 2023
In September 2023, 18 Italian law students had the opportunity to learn about the practice of Italian constitutional law in Rome, under the guidance of Prof. The Constitutional Court, the Parliament, the State Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of South Tyrol were visited, as well as the Conference of Autonomous Regions and Provinces, as well as the Austrian Embassy.
The excursion, organized as part of the course “Profili di diritto costituzionale applicato”, began with a visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of South Tyrol. There, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Katharina Tasser, provided information on the functions and tasks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and analyzed the political climate in Rome. On the second day, the group attended a public hearing of the Constitutional Court on three indirect constitutional complaints. The students then met with the Vice-President of the Constitutional Court, Prof. Daria de Pretis. In an interesting conversation, they gained a deeper insight into the functioning and role of the Constitutional Court. A visit to the Senate was scheduled for the afternoon. The two senators from South Tyrol, Luigi Spagnolli and Meinhard Durnwalder and Laura Schmid, an employee of the parliamentary autonomy group, answered questions about the work in the Senate, which has become much more intense for a small parliamentary group since Parliament was reduced in size in 2022. The day ended with a cozy pizza meal.
The third day began with a visit to the Chamber of Deputies. After the visit to Palazzo Montecitorio, the students unexpectedly had the opportunity to watch the entire final vote on the introduction of the crime of manslaughter at sea (“omicidio nautico”) directly from the stands. The sometimes very emotional explanations from each faction gave a good insight into the functioning of the plenary session, as well as the creation of this law, a reaction to a tragic boat accident on Lake Garda in 2021, caused by drunks, with two deaths . The law was approved with just one vote against in the presence of the victims’ families. In the afternoon the group met with Alessia Grillo, General Secretary of the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces of Bolzano and Trento. Supported by Danilo Capitanio, she explained the working methods and tasks of the conference and gave an interesting insight into the complex relationships between regions and the state. Information was also provided on the current state of the discussion on differentiated regionalism and the sometimes critical regional vision of the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The day ended with a reception for students at the Austrian embassy. Ambassador Jan Kickert and Ambassador Karl Ehrlich spoke inspiringly and enthusiastically about their lives as diplomats and conveyed a deep impression of their world.
The last day was dedicated to the State Council. In small groups, the students were able to watch some negotiations at the highest administrative court, under the leadership of State Counselor Ulrike Lobis. This was followed by a tour of art history by the Council of State, which has a beautiful official residence in Palazzo Spada. This was the culminating conclusion to the stimulating and information-rich days for the Italian law students.
(Noah Holzer/Jana Hopfgartner/Esther Happacher)