A survey of recent rulings by the Italian Constitutional Court on social rights, particularly regarding their coexistence with budget constraints, allows to formulate three general remarks: this case law is still centered around the notion of legislative discretion; consequently, not even in a difficult time of crisis has the Court adopted a rigid doctrine of financial rigor, nor have social rights ever been fully subordinated to budgetary discipline, as some feared; nevertheless, it is possible to detect the symptoms of a more intense and realistic attention of the Court for the economic dimension of policy choices, as well as their judicial review, whose outcome has been occasionally very critical towards ill-pondered austerity measures. The Court’s case law emphasizes both political discretion
Massa, M., Discrezionalità, sostenibilità, responsabilità nella giurisprudenza costituzionale sui diritti sociali, <<QUADERNI COSTITUZIONALI>>, 2017; 37 (1): 73-93. [doi:10.1439/85832] [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/98754]
Discrezionalità, sostenibilità, responsabilità nella giurisprudenza costituzionale sui diritti sociali
Massa, Michele
2017
Abstract
A survey of recent rulings by the Italian Constitutional Court on social rights, particularly regarding their coexistence with budget constraints, allows to formulate three general remarks: this case law is still centered around the notion of legislative discretion; consequently, not even in a difficult time of crisis has the Court adopted a rigid doctrine of financial rigor, nor have social rights ever been fully subordinated to budgetary discipline, as some feared; nevertheless, it is possible to detect the symptoms of a more intense and realistic attention of the Court for the economic dimension of policy choices, as well as their judicial review, whose outcome has been occasionally very critical towards ill-pondered austerity measures. The Court’s case law emphasizes both political discretionI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.