ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates the origins of the principle of loyal cooperation in the Italian regional system, before analysing its transformation after the constitutional reform of 2001. A main focus is the case law of the Constitutional Court, which has developed and given concrete shape to the principle. Coordination and cooperation take place in intergovernmental relations, with the system of territorial conferences as the preferred institutional setting. Without being structurally able to perform the role of a territorial second chamber, such as the Swiss State Council or the German Federal Council (albeit not a parliamentary body), the Standing Conference of State and Regions and the Autonomous Provinces of Bolzano and Trento has actually become the very pivot in the system. It thus partially compensates the political deficit in these relations given the lack of a chamber of territorial representation in the Italian Parliament.
