Developments in Italian constitutional law: the year 2016 in review

This report firstly provides a brief introduction to the Italian constitutional system, with particular emphasis on the system of constitutional justice. Secondly, the report contains a narrative exposition of two particularly important controversies that occurred in 2016. In these decisions, the Italian Constitutional Court (ICC) actively engaged as the supranational dimension of constitutional law, showing at the same time a high level of compliance to the principle of openness towards supranational and international law, and a firm stance in upholding the complex substantive and institutional balance of the Italian Constitution. The report then provides an overview of landmark judgments adopted by the ICC in 2016. The last section draws some conclusions.