The Italian Senate in the era of Giolitti and the House of Lords: some comparative insights*

In this article, Francesco Soddu analyzes the role of the first chamber of the Italian parliament, the Senato, in the era of Giolitti’s political dominance. The Senato was a nominated chamber, with members appointed from a prescribed list of categories by the king, and who held office for life. Its position in the constitution had been laid down in the Albertine statute of 1848. The author analyses the composition and working practices of the Senato and describes its function in the legislative process. He then looks for instructive similarities and differences between the Senato and the British House of Lords in the same period, when the Lords last became the focus of a major constitutional crisis over their composition and powers in 1909–11.