Type: Judgment

Authority: National Courts: Supreme Courts (Italy) - Corte Costituzionale

Date: 04/18/2008

Subject: Since art. 117, par. 2, lett. s) of the Constitution ascribes to the State the exclusive competence to protect the environment and the whole ecosystem, the Italian Constitutional Court has established that the State must discipline the environment as an organic entity; therefore, the unitary discipline in protection of the environment, which has been wholly ascribed to the State, functions as a limit to the Regions’ and Provinces’ norms in this matter. Therefore, Regions cannot claim a role in the legislative power of the State in matter of environment’s protection. The Court has also established that the State cannot impose to the Autonomous Provinces to conform themselves, in the adoption of protection and preservation measures, to the “minimum uniform criteria” of an issued ministerial decree. The Autonomous Provinces must give effective execution to the Directive 92/43/CEE in their territory. Therefore the Court has declared the Constitutional illegitimacy of art. 1, par. 1226 of the financial Law for 2007 (Law n. 296 of 27/12/2006) in the part which obliges the Autonomous Provinces to conform themselves to the criteria provided by a ministerial decree.

Original language: Italian

Classification: Solidarity - Art. 37 Environmental protection

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