ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the main features of the Court and the institutional framework of Italian constitutional review. It then evaluates the role of the Court from a quantitative perspective using the JUDICON-EU dataset. It investigates the extent to which the Italian Constitutional Court constrains the legislature's room for manoeuvre and the differentiation of its decisions. It then examines the specific conditions that have strengthened the role of the ICC vis-à-vis the legislature over time. Finally, the chapter provides insight into the politically relevant decisions from the Court's recent history. All in all, the chapter underscores how – and why – the Constitutional Court is a powerful political institution in contemporary Italian politics and emphasizes its key role in understanding the ongoing transformations of the entire political system.
