ABSTRACT
The Italian system is a unified system of civil law (that is, of codified statutory law). It is based upon a written Constitution, enacted in 1948, that encompasses the fundamental rules and principles of the legal-political system. The Constitution is 'rigid' (that is, it can be changed only through a special parliamentary proceeding). The sources of law are mainly written: there are several codes (civil, criminal, civil procedure, criminal procedure) and a very large number of statutes. Each year many statutes are enacted by parliament. Precedents are used, but they are not a real 'source' of law. Their force is only persuasive.
