Chapter 1.Basic constitutional information about the Government of Italian republic

1. Importance of the role and of the functions of the Government in the Italian constitutional system.

In each contemporary constitutional system the Government, like a body of vertex of administrative apparatus in the state, has its own complete list of plants.

The Government, tends to put itself also as a “guiding committee,” far from the being really alone “executive committee” of the Parliament: this is due to the the presence more authoritative exponents of the parliamentary majority in the Government, while the parliamentarian trust happens to the Government through the approval of its programmatic political platform , which then becomes the program of the total central system of political institutions..¹

The article 92 of the Constitution defines the expression “Government of the Republic”, highlighting the fact that is called to unwind its functions, reported, moreover to the administration, to the legislation of the state and to the development of the relations with other states or with supranational organization. It is also used for the guardianship of the good functioning of all public institutions as well as for guarantying correct development of the relations between the different social groups.²

2. The constitutional formation and work of the Italian Government.

The formation of the Government came into force with the adoption of the presidential decrees regarding the appointment of the President of the Council of the Ministers and of the Ministers, countersigned by the President of the Council at the end of the phase of the consultations, but the article 93 of the Constitution explicitly subordinates the acceptance of the government functions to the oath of members of the Government “in the hands of the President of the Republic” (the oath is “I swear to be faithful to the Republic, loyally observe the Constitution and carry out my functions in the exclusive interest of the nation”). To avoid the risk that determines a time interval in the replacement of the new Government, the oath begins immediately after the signature of the decrees of appointment.

The Government of the Republic is regularly a body that in accordance with the article 92.1 of the Constitution “consists of the President and Ministers, who the Council of the Ministers together”. The article 93 of the Constitution does not put limitations on the powers of the new Government.³

The research of the united constitutional system leads to keep that the Government, in phase that precedes the conferment of the trust, can have all of its powers. From the juridical point of view, after the possible denial of the parliamentary trust it works only like an operative part of the Assembly of the Government, forced to review immediately resignations.

In the first phase of the existence of the Government shall be appointed such officers: the Undersecretaries, who are not a part of the Government but they are the closest collaborators of the President of the Council and of the Ministers, and there is a possible appointment, on proposal of the President of the Council, of one or more deputies of the President of the Council, chosen between the already renowned Ministers; besides the Council of the Ministers must express its own functions delegated by the President of the Council to the Ministers without financing.

Within ten days of its formation the Government must present itself to the Chambers for the discussion of the issue of the trust.⁴