ABSTRACT

In post-war Italy the judiciary has played an increasingly significant role in the political system. The roots of this development have to be traced to the Constitution of 1948 and to the way in which it was implemented. The institutional setting of the Italian judiciary has been radically altered, in an attempt to make it as independent as possible from the political branches of government. However, for many years judicial power was somewhat constrained, with political parties exploiting the internal divisions of the judiciary. After 1992, the collapse of traditional governmental parties, partly brought about by judicial actions, has made Italy a example par excellence of judicialised politics.