Amoroso: “The Constitutional Court’s rulings set out the principles for assessing the electoral law. End-of-life issues? We’ll wait for Parliament.”

On the new electoral law, “there are certain principles, and these will form the basis for an assessment that will be up to the Constitutional Court when and if the matter is brought before it”. Giovanni Amoroso, President of the Constitutional Court, speaking at Il Foglio’s ‘Festival of Optimism’, did not dwell on the recently approved reform – the constitutionality of which will be assessed by the Constitutional Court itself, given the appeals lodged by the opposition – but referred to the rulings on the Calderoli law and the law relating to the Renzi reform. “The Calderoli law was in force for nine years before the Constitutional Court ruled on it in 2014. In the case of the 2017 law, it had been approved but not yet implemented. It was considered that the uncertainty being complained of constituted a legal interest in bringing proceedings, and I imagine a similar course of action will be taken with the law that has just been approved,” recalls Amoroso. He, however, will not be on the panel: “My term of office expires on 13 November.”

When asked about the line between protest and violence, Amoroso is unequivocal: “Violence and damage are not acceptable. The guarantee provided by Article 21 of the Constitution has very clear limits.” And on the presumption of innocence, he warns that “media pillorying causes irreparable damage in certain cases” and that “much greater care is needed on the part of the media”. Constitutional protection, he says, “exists, and it applies in criminal proceedings”.

As for a possible fascist drift by the Meloni government, Amoroso distinguishes between the political opposition and the legal framework: the Constitution “precludes the re-establishment of the fascist party”, but “I rule out the risk of that happening”. Finally, on end-of-life issues, the President of the Court observes that the legislator may make the requirements for the non-punishability of assisted suicide “broader and more flexible”. “We are waiting for Parliament to pass a future law,” Amoroso said: “The legislature could introduce less stringent conditions; this does not mean moving towards euthanasia but rather broadening the scope of non-punishability for assisted suicide.”