Some remarks on art. 1 of the Italian Charter of Rights
A talk by prof. Roberto Toniatti (University of Trento)
"Italy is a Democratic Republic, based on labour. Sovereignty belongs to the people who exercise it in the forms and limits of the Constitution". This is art.1 of the Italian Constitution. Democracy – as a concept, a value, a method as well as a system, takes center stage since the first dispositions in the fundamental Charter of Rights. The Law Maker wanted the first article to define the political and ideological character of the Italian Basic Legislation and to bestow onto this ideological statement the maximum impact. However, notwithstanding its presence in the Charter, this principle – in itself -does not guarantee it will be effective in every respect. Even the constitutional norm does wither, or suffer from atrophy eventually dying out unless, from its inception, it is supported by a number of social, political and cultural factors which legitimise and confirm its roots in the people's conscience as well as in the institutional reality.ROBERTO TONIATTI is Professor of DIRITTO PUBBLICO COMPARATO at the Law Faculty of Trento University. He is the author of a number of publications, some of which dealing with aspects of international legislation (Israel, U.S.A., Europe). From 2006 through 2009 he was Director of the Summer School CoCoA (Comparing Constitutional Adjudication), EU Marie Curie Programme. In 2006 he was Co-Director (with Prof. J. Weiler, NYLS), of the ELINIS Project (European Legal Integration: the New Italian Scholarship). At the moment he is visiting professor at Haifa University.