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Abstract
In 1995, two years after the adoption of gender quota laws, the Italian Constitutional Court declared these laws to be unconstitutional. The Constitution was subsequently reformed in order to make way for new quota legislation. Such reforms came in late and in a contradictory way. The Constitution was first modified in 2001 to allow regions to adopt quota measures to enhance women's political representation at the regional level and then in 2003 to allow similar measures to enhance women's political representation at the national and European levels. Thus far, quotas have been introduced only in some regions and for European elections. Consequently, the 2001 and 2003 constitutional reforms have had a limited impact on legislative implementation measures and thus on the percentage of women in elected assemblies.
Notes
1. This Italian scholarship includes Beccalli (Citation1999), Carlassare (Citation2002), Bin et al. (Citation2003), Guadagnini (Citation2003), Palici di Suni (Citation2004), Brunelli (Citation2006), and Catalani (2008).
2. The Corte di Cassazione is the Italian equivalent of the Cour de cassation in France, the Supreme Court, which rules at the highest level on legal and interpretative questions.
3. App. Ancona, judgment of 28 July 1906, Foro italiano1906, I, 1060; Cass. Roma, judgment of 12 December 1906, Giurisprudenza italiana1907, III, 1.
4. In 1912 Ciccarone said: ‘Non saprò mai persuadermi che si debba negare ad una donna colta quello che si concede ad un uomo ignorante’ (I will never be convinced that an educated woman can be denied what is afforded to an ignorant man) (Pivetti Citation1996: 64).
5. Bettiol said: ‘San Paolo diceva: “Tacciano le donne nella Chiesa”. Se San Paolo fosse vivo direbbe “Facciano silenzio le donne anche nei tribunali” … Perché il problema dell'amministrazione della giustizia è un problema razionale, è un problema logico, che deve essere impostato e risolto in termini di forte emotività, non già di quella commozione puramente superficiale che è propria del genere femminile’ (Saint Paul said: ‘Shall women be silent in the Church’. If Saint Paul were still alive, he would say ‘Shall women be silent also in the courts’ … Because administering the judicial system is a rational and logical problem, which has to be set out and solved with strong emotionality, not with that superficial emotion peculiar to the female gender) (Cicconetti Citation1970, V: 3708–9).
6. The Equal Opportunities Commission and Committees had begun to operate in Italy a few years before. On the impact of women's policy agencies on state decision-making, see Lovenduski (Citation2008). On women's policy agency activities in Italy in the 1990s, see Guadagnini (Citation2007: 182–4).
7. ‘Citizens of one or the other sex have access to public offices and to elective mandates under equal conditions, according to the rules established by law.’
8. On the judgment No. 422/1995, see Brunelli (Citation1995), Cinanni (Citation1995), De Siervo (Citation1995), Carlassare (Citation1997: 82–6), Barbera (Citation1999: 91–119), and Pizzorusso and Rossi (1999: 176–82).
9. ‘All citizens have equal social dignity and are equal before the law, without distinction as to sex, race, language, religion, political opinions, or personal or social condition.’
10. ‘It is the duty of the Republic to remove those obstacles of economic and social nature that in fact limit the freedom and equality of citizens, impede the full development of the human person and the effective participation of all workers in the political, economic and social organisation of the country.’
11. Regional statutes contain rules on the form of government and on the regional organisation (Article 123 of the Constitution).
12. Law No. 1/2005 of the Calabria region (Article 6).
13. Abruzzo Law No. 42/2004, Marche Law No. 27/2004, Trentino-Alto Adige Law No. 7/2004 (referred to municipal elections), Puglia Law No. 2/2005.
14. Toscana Law No. 25/2004 (but only if there are at least two candidates), Lazio Law No. 2/2005, Sicily Law No. 7/2005.
15. The solution of a double candidature was proposed by Carlassare (Citation1997: 90–92). The law of Campania was challenged by the government, but the Constitutional Court declared it to be not unconstitutional with judgment No. 4/2010 of 15 December 2009 (see http://www.cortecostituzionale.it/).
16. The Senate is elected on a regional basis (Article 57 of the Constitution).
17. 18.2 per cent in the lower house and 21.9 per cent in the upper house.