Buffalo Law Review Volume 7 Number 2 Article 4 1-1-1958 The Italian Constitutional Court in Its First Two Years of Activity John Clarke Adams Syracuse University Paolo Barile University of Siena Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/buffalolawreview Part of the Constitutional Law Commons Recommended Citation John C. Adams & Paolo Barile, The Italian Constitutional Court in Its First Two Years of Activity, 7 Buff. L. Rev. 250 (1958). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/buffalolawreview/vol7/iss2/4 This Leading Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Buffalo Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. BUFFALO LAW REVIEW THE ITALIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT IN ITS FIRST TWO YEARS OF ACTIVITY By JOHN CLARKE ADAMS* AND PAOLO BARILE** THE CONSTITUTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CREATION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT T HE Italian Constitution of 1948 was an attempt of a liberal-minded Constituent Assembly to preserve the structure and the organs of the octroi Consti- tution of Carlo Alberto of Piedmont, promulgated in 1848, and at the same time to protect Italy from future fascist (or communist) usurpation, by such innova- tions as a complete bill of rights and the creation of a Constitutional Court, with the power to overrule legislation at variance with the Constitution. Under the Italian system the executive is already controlled by the Consiglio di Stato and the regular courts, which are empowered to annul administrative acts at variance with the law.' As the authors have stated elsewhere,2 the creation of a Constitutional Court was one of five major institutional reforms envisaged by the new Constitution.