Titolo IV - Political Rights and Duties

Articoli:

 

• Title IV - Art. 48
• Title IV - Art. 49
• Title IV - Art. 50
• Title IV - Art. 51
• Title IV - Art. 52
• Title IV - Art. 53
• Title IV - Art. 54

 

Title IV - Art. 48

All citizens, male and female, who have attained their majority, are voters. The vote is
personal and equal, free and secret. The exercise thereof is a civic duty. The law lays
down the requirements and modalities for citizens residing abroad to exercise their
right to vote and guarantees that this right is effective. A constituency of Italians abroad shall be established for elections to the Houses of Parliament; the number of seats of
such constituency is set forth in a constitutional provision according to criteria
established by law. The right to vote cannot be restricted except for civil incapacity or as
a consequence of an irrevocable penal sentence or in cases of moral unworthiness as
laid down by law.

 

Title IV - Art. 49

All citizens have the right to freely associate in parties to contribute to determining national
policies through democratic processes.

 

Title IV - Art. 50

All citizens may present petitions to both Houses to request legislative measures or to
express collective needs.

 

Title IV - Art. 51

All citizens of either sex are eligible for public offices and for elective positions on equal
terms, according to the conditions established by law. To this end, the Republic shall adopt
specific measures to promote equal opportunities between women and men.
The law may grant Italians who are not resident in the Republic the same rights as citizens for
the purposes of access to public offices and elected positions.
Whoever is elected to a public function is entitled to the time needed to perform that function and to retain previously held employment.

 

Title IV - Art. 52

The defence of the Fatherland is a sacred duty for every citizen.
Military service is obligatory within the limits and in the manner set by law. Fulfilment thereof
shall not prejudice a citizen's employment, nor the exercise of political rights.
The organisation of the armed forces shall be based on the democratic spirit of the Republic.

 

Title IV - Art. 53

Every person shall contribute to public expenditure in accordance with his/her tax-payer
capacity.
The taxation system shall be based on criteria of progression.

 

Title IV - Art. 54

All citizens have the duty to be loyal to the Republic and to uphold its Constitution and laws.
Those citizens to whom public functions are entrusted have the duty to fulfil such functions with
discipline and honour, taking an oath in those cases established by law.

Title I: Il Parliament

Section 1: The Houses

Articoli:

• e I - Art. 55
• e I - Art. 56
• e I - Art. 57
• e I - Art. 58
• e I - Art. 59
• e I - Art. 60
• e I - Art. 61
• e I - Art. 62
• e I - Art. 63
• e I - Art. 64
• e I - Art. 65
• e I - Art. 66
• e I - Art. 67
• e I - Art. 68
• e I - Art. 69

Section II - Legislative process

Articoli:

• e I - Art. 70
• e I - Art. 71
• e I - Art. 72
• e I - Art. 73
• e I - Art. 74
• e I - Art. 75
• e I - Art. 76
• e I - Art. 77
• e I - Art. 78
• e I - Art. 79
• e I - Art. 80
• e I - Art. 81
• e I - Art. 82

 

Section 1: The Houses

Title I - Art. 55

Parliament consists of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic.
Parliament meets in joint session of the members of both Houses only in those cases established
in the Constitution.

 

Title I - Art. 56

The Chamber of Deputies is elected by direct and universal suffrage.
The number of Deputies is six hundred and thirty, twelve of which are elected in the Overseas
Constituency. All voters who have attained the age of twenty-five on the day of elections
are eligible to be Deputies.
The division of seats among the electoral districts, with the exception of the number of seats
assigned to the Overseas Constituency, is obtained by dividing the number of inhabitants
of the Republic, as shown by the latest general census of the population, by six hundred
eighteen and distributing the seats in proportion to the population in every electoral
district, on the basis of whole shares and the highest remainders.

 

Title I - Art. 57

The Senate of the Republic is elected on a regional basis, with the exception of the seats
assigned to the Overseas Constituency.
The number of Senators to be elected is three hundred and fifteen, six of which are elected in
the Overseas Constituency. No Region may have fewer than seven Senators; Molise shall
have two, Valle d'Aosta one.
The division of seats among the Regions, with the exception of the number of seats assigned to
the Overseas Constituency, in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Article, is
made in proportion to the population of the Regions as revealed in the most recent general
census, on the basis of whole shares and the highest remainders.

 

Title I - Art. 58

Senators are elected by universal and direct suffrage by voters who are twenty-five years
of age.
Voters who have attained the age of forty are eligible to be elected to the Senate.

 

Title I - Art. 59

Former Presidents of the Republic are Senators by right and for life unless they renounce the
office.
The President of the Republic may appoint five citizens who have honoured the Nation through
their outstanding achievements in the social, scientific, artistic and literary fields as life

Senators.

 

Title I - Art. 60

The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic are elected for five years.
The term for each House cannot be extended, except by law and only in the case of war.

 

Title I - Art. 61

Elections for the new Houses take place within seventy days from the end of the term of the
previous Houses. The first meeting is convened no later than twenty days after the elections.
Until such time as the new Houses meet, the powers of the previous Houses are extended.

 

Title I - Art. 62

The Houses shall convene by right on the first working day of February and October.
Each House may be convened in extraordinary session on the initiative of its President or the
President of the Republic or a third of its members.
When one House is convened in extraordinary session, the other House is convened by right.

 

Title I - Art. 63

Each House shall elect from among its members its President and its Bureau.
When Parliament meets in joint session, the President and the Bureau are those of the Chamber
of Deputies.

 

Title I - Art. 64

Each House adopts its own Rules by an absolute majority of its members.
The sittings are public; however, each of the Houses and Parliament in joint session may decide
to convene a closed session.
The decisions of each House and of Parliament are not valid if the majority of the members is not
present, and if they are not passed by a majority of those present, unless the Constitution
prescribes a special majority.
Members of the Government, even when not members of the Houses, have the right, and, when requested, the obligation to attend the sittings. They shall be heard every time they so request.

 

Title I - Art. 65

The law determines the cases of non-eligibility and incompatibility with the office of Deputy
or Senator.
No one may be a member of both Houses at the same time.

 

Title I - Art. 66

Each House verifies the credentials of its members and the causes of ineligibility and
incompatibility that may arise at a later stage.

 

Title I - Art. 67

Each Member of Parliament represents the Nation and carries
out his/her duties without a binding mandate

 

Title I - Art. 68

Members of Parliament cannot be held accountable for the opinions expressed or votes cast in the performance of their function.
Without the authorisation of their respective House, Members of Parliament may not be
submitted to personal or home search, nor may they be arrested or otherwise deprived of their personal freedom, nor held in detention, except when a final court sentence is
enforced, or when the Member is apprehended in the act of committing an offence for which arrest flagrante delicto is mandatory.
The same authorisation is required for Members of Parliament to be submitted to the
surveillance of their conversations or communication, in any form, and to the seizure of
their correspondence.

 

Title I - Art. 69

Members of Parliament shall receive an allowance established by
law.

 

Section II - Legislative process

Title I - Art. 70

The legislative function is exercised collectively by both Houses.

 

Title I - Art. 71

Legislation is initiated by the Government, by each Member of
Parliament and by those entities and bodies so empowered by
constitutional law.
The people may initiate legislation by proposing a bill drawn up
in sections and signed by at least fifty-thousand voters.

 

Title I - Art. 72

Every bill submitted to one of the Houses is, in accordance with its Rules, considered by a
Committee and then by the House itself, which approves it section by section and with
a final vote.
The Rules establish shortened procedures for draft legislation that has been declared urgent.
They may also establish in which cases and in what manner the consideration and approval of
bills is deferred to Committees, including Standing Committees, composed so as to
reflect the proportion of the Parliamentary Groups. Even in such cases, until the moment of its final approval,
the bill may be referred back to the
House, if the Government or one-tenth of
the members of the House or one-fifth of the Committee request that it be debated and voted
on by the House itself or that it be submitted to the House for final
approval, with only explanations of vote. The Rules establish the ways in which the
proceedings of Committees are made public.
The regular procedure for consideration and direct approval by the House is always followed in
the case of bills on constitutional and electoral matters, enabling legislation, the
ratification of international treaties and the approval of budgets and accounts.

 

Title I - Art. 73

Laws are promulgated by the President of the Republic within one month of their approval.
If the Houses, each by an absolute majority of its members,
declare a law to be urgent, the law is promulgated within the
deadline established therein.
Laws are published immediately after promulgation and come
into force on the fifteenth day following publication, unless the
laws themselves establish a different deadline.

 

Title I - Art. 74

The President of the Republic, before promulgating a law, may
request the Houses, with a reasoned message, to deliberate
again
. If the Houses once more pass the bill once again, then the law must be promulgated.

 

Title I - Art. 75

A popular referendum shall be held to abrogate, totally or partially, a law or
a measure having the force of law, when requested by five hundred thousand voters or five
Regional Councils. Referenda are not admissible in the case of tax, budget, amnesty and pardon laws,
or laws authorising the ratification of international treaties. All citizens eligible to
vote for the Chamber of Deputies have the right to participate in referenda. The
proposal subjected to a referendum is approved if the majority of those with voting
rights have participated in the vote and a majority of votes validly cast has been
reached. The procedures for conducting a referendum shall be established by law.

NOTE:
(*) Con la legge costituzionale 3 aprile 1989, n. 2, è stata disposta l'indizione di un referendum di indirizzo sul conferimento di un mandato costituente al Parlamento europeo da svolgersi in occasione delle elezioni del 1989 per il rinnovo del Parlamento europeo.
(*) Con la legge costituzionale 11 marzo 1953, n. 1, "Norme integrative della Costituzione concernenti la Corte costituzionale", è stato attribuito alla Corte costituzionale il giudizio sull'ammissibilità dei quesiti referendari.

Title I - Art. 76

The exercise of the legislative function may not be delegated to the Government unless
principles and criteria have been established and then only for a limited time and for
specified purposesi.

 

Title I - Art. 77

The Government may not, without an enabling act from the Houses,
issue decrees having the force of ordinary law.
When in extraordinary cases of necessity and urgency the
Government adopts provisional
measures having the force of law, it must on the same day present said measures for
confirmation to the Houses which, even if dissolved, shall be summoned especially for this purpose
and shall convene within five days.
The decrees lose effect from their inception if they are not confirmed within sixty days from
their publication. The Houses may however regulate by
law legal relationships arising out of not confirmed decrees.

 

Title I - Art. 78

The Houses deliberate the state of war and confer the necessary
powers on the Government.

 

Title I - Art. 79

Amnesty and pardon are granted with a law approved by a
two-thirds majority in both Houses, for each section and in the final vote. The law
granting an amnesty or pardon establishes the deadline for its implementation. Amnesty
and pardon cannot in any case apply to offences committed following the introduction of
the bill in Parliament.

 

Title I - Art. 80

The Houses authorise by law the ratification of international
treaties which are of a political nature, or which call for arbitration or legal settlements, or
which entail changes to the national territory or financial burdens or changes to legislation.

 

Title I - Art. 81

The Houses approve every year the budgets and accounts
submitted by the Government. The provisional budget cannot be granted unless by law and for
periods not exceeding a total of four months. It is not possible to introduce new taxes and new expenditures
in the law approving the budget. Any other law involving new or increased expenditures must specify
the resources to meet these expenditures.

 

Title I - Art. 82

Each House may conduct inquiries on matters of public interest.
For such purposes, it appoints a Committee so composed as to reflect the
proportional representation of the Parliamentary Groups. The Committee of inquiry
conducts its investigations and examinations with the same powers and the same limitations
as a judicial authority