06 November 2024
Towards Universal Criminalisation
“Italy Criminalises Surrogacy from Abroad, a Blow to Gay and Infertile Couples.” This was the headline on the New York Times website following the approval of a law in Italy criminalising reproductive tourism. Giorgia Meloni had already introduced the bill, Act no. 824, in the last Parliament, and the current right-wing majority has now passed it. The news has gone around the world. Let us try to understand why. Continue reading >>
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09 August 2024
Non-Binary Gender Markers in Italy?
In July, the Italian Constitutional Court recognised the existence of non-binary people for the first time in Italian history. Although the decision as such is a big step for queer rights in Italy, the Court stops halfway. In contrast to the German “Dritte Option” decision, the Court does not set clear instructions or deadlines for the Parliament. Italy’s current far-right political climate likely means non-binary gender markers will not be introduced by the Italian Parliament anytime soon. Continue reading >>
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31 July 2024
Breaking Bad all’Italiana
The European Commission's 2024 Annual Rule of Law Report provides some analysis of Italy’s current political and judicial landscape under Meloni’s right wing rule. While the expectations towards the Report were low, the document must be read as a wakeup call, as Italy sets out to be the new Hungary. Continue reading >>
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14 June 2024
The Proposed Psychological Tests for Judges in Italy
The recent proposal to introduce psycho-academic tests for access to the judiciary, which in Italy includes both the careers of judge and public prosecutor, has sparked heated clashes and debates between state powers and legal practitioners. But what are the reasons behind this proposal and why is it causing such a stir? Continue reading >>
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11 June 2024
Delegitimizing by Procrastinating
In countries where populist movements have garnered significant electoral support, their self-proclaimed role as the sole representatives of the true will of a unified people has led them to assert that their democratic legitimacy surpasses the technocratic authority of constitutional courts. The requirement of supermajorities in the election of Italy's constitutional judges has, in combination with a changed political landscape, led to political deadlocks, entailing the risk of jeopardizing the Court’s operability and partisanship-based appointments. Continue reading >>
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23 May 2024
Nigeria as a Safe Country of Origin?
On May 7th 2024 Italy updated its list of safe countries of origin (SCO) for the second time after the introduction of the notion in the national legal system in 2019. Notably, the latest update retained the most contentious addition to the list from last year, Nigeria. Until then, only Cyprus considered Nigeria as generally safe. The legal issues underlying this designation illustrate how country of origin information (COI), largely provided to Member States by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), is (mis)used to produce policy-based evidence rather than evidence-based policies. Continue reading >>
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12 April 2024
Climate Litigation Reaches Italian Courts
With Giudizio Universale, climate litigation has found its way to Italy. This case has many aspects in common with the general transnational phenomenon, both in terms of the structure and content of the legal arguments used. The case highlights the difficulties that courts face in view of the high social expectations connected to this kind of proceedings. Continue reading >>
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02 April 2024
Refoulement As A Crime
Last month, the Italian Court of Cassation upheld the (suspended) sentence of one year’s imprisonment of the shipmaster of the Italian ship Asso28. He was convicted of two offences of abandonment for returning and handing around 100 migrants over to the personnel of a Libyan patrol boat, including some unaccompanied minors and pregnant women, whom he had previously rescued in international waters within the Libyan SAR zone. The case constitutes the first time an individual was held criminally responsible for failing to fulfil the duty of non-refoulement. Until recently, the refoulement duty has only served to exclude the liability of shipmasters who had complied with it whenever they were accused of facilitating irregular immigration. This case indicates the emergence of a new function of the principle, namely that of grounding the criminal liability of those who violate it. Continue reading >>15 February 2024
“Rented Uterus” as a Universal Crime
The principle of universal jurisdiction (UJ) has traditionally been grounded in the idea of a collective response to the most heinous crimes on a global scale. Italy, a country that currently lacks universal jurisdiction for international crimes, is amid deliberations on a proposed bill advocating for the use of universal jurisdiction in cases of surrogacy. This analysis contends that the underlying political motive behind this bill is to curb all forms of same-sex parenthood, inadvertently resulting in a criminal law framework that would specifically impact male-gay couples. Secondly, it draws a parallel with “memory law”, illustrating how legal mechanisms initially established in the enthusiasm of the ‘90s are now being repurposed as instruments for divisive political agendas. Continue reading >>15 November 2023
Between Recalibration and Distortion
In its current form, the project to change the form of government that the Italian government headed by Ms Giorgia Meloni is preparing to present to the Senate seems difficult to accept. The project claims to address the issue of unstable and short-term cabinets in Italy (65 in 75 years, one every 12 months from 1948 through 1994 when a new electoral law was applied; still one every 21 months thereafter). Unfortunately, it is both poorly drafted and contains contradictions that make it not only impracticable but of dubious functionality with respect to the very objectives it proposes to achieve. However, as it has been decades since the problem the draft says it wants to tackle has been acknowledged, I shall assume its proponents' good intentions and suugest how the text could be improved. Below I briefly describe the project, trace its distant and recent origins, indicate what it is lacking and how it should be changed. Continue reading >>
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