Statuto Albertino
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The Statuto Albertino (English: Albertine Statute) was the constitution granted by King Charles Albert of Sardinia to the Kingdom of Sardinia on 4 March 1848 and written in Italian and French. The Statute later became the constitution of the unified Kingdom of Italy and remained in force, with changes, until 1948.[1] Charles Albert did not want to grant a Constitutional Charter so he attempted to maintain as much power as he could even though the Statute marked the end of his absolute monarchy.[2]
The Constitution established a uninominal-majoritarian electoral system and initially gave suffrage to wealthy males over the age of 25.[3] In 1919, the uninominal-majoritarian system was altered into a proportional representation system.[3]
Background
The Statute was proclaimed only because of concern at the revolutionary insurrection agitating Italy in 1848. At the time, Charles Albert was only following the example of other Italian rulers, but his Statute was the only constitution to survive the repression that followed the
Provisions
Preamble
The
CARLO ALBERTO,
With regal loyalty and fatherly love We come today to accomplish what We had announced to Our most beloved subjects with Our proclamation of the 8th of the February last, with which We wanted to demonstrate, in the midst of the extraordinary events which surround the country, how Our confidence in them increases with the gravity of the circumstances and, heeding only of the impulses of Our heart, how determined is Our intention to adapt their destiny to the spirit of the times, for the interest and for the dignity of the Nation.
Having considered the broad and strong representative institutions contained in the present Fundamental Statute to be the most certain means of redoubling with the links of indissoluble affection that bind to Our Italian Crown a People who have given Us so many proofs of faith, of obedience and of love, We have determined to sanction it and to promulgate it, in the faith that God will bless Our intentions, and that the free, strong and happy Nation will always show itself ever more worthy of its ancient fame and will deserve a glorious future. For this reason, by Our certain Royal authority, having had the opinion of Our Concil, We have ordered and We do order with the force of Statute and fundamental Law, perpetual and irrevocable from the Monarchy, that which follows:
The State (Articles 1–23)
The Statute starts by establishing
Among the powers of the King were the capacity to
- declare war, as commander-in-chief of all the armed forces.
- conclude state interests and national security concerns forbade it. However, treaties entailing either a financial burden or changes in the territories of the Statehad to be ratified by the Chambers.
- appoint all state officials.
- sign bills into law and promulgate them, as well as issue the decrees and regulations necessary for their execution. The Article No.7 also gave the King the ability to withhold countersignature.
- propose new legislation, a power shared with the Chambers. However, taxation and appropriations bills were required to originate in the Chamber of Deputies.
- annually convene the Chambers, prorogue them and dissolve the Chamber of Deputies, with the proviso that a new Chamber must be convened within four months of its dissolution.
- grant commute sentences.
The King reached
The Statute established the economic benefits and privileges of the Crown and the members of the royal family, reaffirming also the King's ownership of His assets, which included
During the coronation, the King was required to swear before both Chambers to act in accordance with the Statute, while the regent was required to swear loyalty to the King and the Statute.
The Rights and Duties of Citizens (Articles 24–32)
The Statute declared all citizens equal before the law, with equal civil and political rights regardless of ranks and titles, and made all citizens eligible for civil and military offices, except for the restrictions provided by the law. All citizens were required to pay taxes in proportion to their possessions.[4]
The Statute did not explicitly exclude women from the right to vote (Article No.24), this led to controversies as Courts disagreed with each other until the precedent of the Supreme Court forbidding women to vote.[5][6]
The Statute granted the rights of
Taxes could not be levied or collected without the consent of the Chambers and the King. The
The Senate (Articles 33–38)
Senators were appointed by the King for life, and had to be at least 40 years old.
The President and the Vice-President of the Senate were appointed by the King, while the Secretaries were chosen by the Senate. By Royal decree, the Senate could be empowered to sit as a High Court of Justice to judge crimes of
No senator could be arrested without an order of the Senate, except when they were apprehended in flagrante delicto. The Senate had the sole authority to judge its members, and was also responsible for archiving royal births, marriages and deaths.
The Chamber of Deputies (Articles 39–47)
The Chamber of Deputies was popularly elected, and was composed of members chosen from their constituencies in conformity with the law.[4] Deputies were required to be Italian subjects, at least 30 years old, enjoy civil and political rights and fulfill all other requirements established by the law. Deputies were elected for at least five years, unless the Chamber was dissolved before then, and they represented the nation as a whole, with no binding mandate from their individual constituencies.
The Chamber of Deputies elected its own President, Vice-President and Secretaries at the beginning of each session for its entire duration. If a Deputy ceased, for whatever reason, to fulfill his functions, new elections were required to be held in his constituency as soon as possible.
No Deputy could be arrested while the Chamber is in session, except when apprehended in flagrante delicto, nor could he be brought before a court in a criminal proceeding without the prior consent of the Chamber. A Deputy could not be arrested for indebtedness while the Chamber was in session, nor during the three weeks immediately preceding and following a session.
The Chamber had the right to
Provisions Common to Both Chambers (Articles 48–64)
The sessions of the Chambers were required to start and finish at the same time.
Before taking office, Senators and Deputies took an oath to be loyal to the King, to loyally observe the Statute and the laws of the State, and to exercise their functions with the sole aim of the inseparable good of the King and of the nation.
Senators and deputies served without pay. They could not be held accountable for opinions expressed and votes given in the Chambers. Sittings of the Chambers were public, but they could
An
Every citizen over the age of 21 had the right to send
No one could be a Senator and a Deputy at the same time. Voting could be done by standing and sitting, by division into groups or by secret ballot, the last being mandatory while voting on a bill in its entirety, or on provisions personally concerning the Members.
Italian was defined as the working language of both chambers. However, members could use French if they represented areas in which it is used, or in response to the same.
The Ministers (Articles 65–67)
The King appointed and dismissed the Ministers.[4] They could not vote in either Chamber unless they were members. They had the right of entrance to both Chambers and the right to speak upon request. Ministers were legally responsible for government acts, and all laws and acts had to be countersigned by a Minister in order to take effect.
Originally, while ministers were legally responsible to the Chambers, they were politically responsible only to the King. However, as the power and prestige of the Chambers grew over the years, it became virtually impossible for a King to appoint a ministry entirely of his own choosing, or keep it in office against the express will of the Chambers. As a result, it became a well-established convention that ministers were both legally and politically responsible to the Chambers, notwithstanding the Statuto's provision that the King alone held executive power. This convention was so firmly established that when Benito Mussolini consolidated his power, he passed a law explicitly stating that he was not responsible to the Chambers.
The Statute granted the King the power to appoint and dismiss ministers (Article 65). They could not, in theory unlike in practice, be removed by anyone apart from the King because executive power belonged to the King alone (Article 5);
The Judiciary (Articles 68–73)
The King appointed all judges, who administered justice in his name.[4] Except for cantonal judges, judges were irremovable after three years of service.
The Statute provided for the retention of all courts, tribunals, and judges that existed at the time it came into force. The judicial organization could only be altered by legislation. No one could be withdrawn from his ordinary legal jurisdiction. Consequently, no extraordinary tribunals or commissions could be created.
Proceedings of tribunals in civil matters and hearings in criminal matters were public, in conformity with the law. The courts did not exercise judicial review, as the interpretation of laws was the responsibility of the legislature.
General Provisions (Articles 74–81)
The law regulated the institutions of the
The State retained the flag and the existing
Transitory Provisions (Articles 82–84)
The Statute took effect on the day of the first meeting of the Chambers, which was required to take place immediately after the election.[4] Until then, public service was provided by urgent and sovereign dispositions in the forms that were followed before the adoption of the Statute.
For the execution of the Statute, the King reserved the right to make laws on the press, on the elections, on the communal militia and the rearrangement of the State Council. Until the publication of the laws on the press, the previous laws remained in effect.
The Ministers were appointed and responsible for the execution and the full observance of the transitional dispositions.
Reactions
The subjects of the Kingdom celebrated for the first time the grant of the Constitution on 27 February 1848[7] but the day of celebration later became the first Sunday of June. This national day originally meant to represent the achievement of liberty but by time the national day was seen as a celebration to the monarchy itself, and continued to be seen in the same way even after Benito Mussolini acquired power.[8][9]
See also
References
- ^ Mack Smith, Denis (1997). Modern Italy: A Political History. Yale University Press.
- ^ "Statuto Albertino | mappa concettuale | Studenti.it". 10 September 2020.
- ^ ISSN 1537-5943.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Lo Statuto Albertino" (PDF). The official website of the Presidency of the Italian Republic.
- ^ "A brief history of women's suffrage in Italy".
- ^ "Le dieci maestre che vollero votare".
- ^ "La prima carta costituzionale dell'Italia unita: Lo Statuto Albertino". 5 October 2020.
- ^ "Si celebra in Puglia la festa nazionale dello Statuto Albertino".
- ^ "La Festa dello Statuto Albertino".
External links
- Text of the Statute (in Italian)
- Text of the Statute (in English)
- Text of the Statute (annotated PDF translation)