Italian Constitutional Court strikes down electoral law

The Italian Constitutional Court published on Monday 13 January 2014 the  motivations of  its ruling communicated 38 days before that the Italian electoral law of 2005 is unconstitutional. The Court clarifies in this 26 page long decision that the effects of this ruling are only valid for the future in response to many speculations made that there would have been a retroeffective effect. It also leaves ample discretionality to the legislator in drafting a new electoral law.

The Court repeats however the two limits to be respected by an electoral law, the blocked lists and the majority premium and elaborates on these two points. The Italian Constitutional Court had stated on December 4th 2013 that portions of the country’s electoral law breach its constitution.  In the very brief press release issued that date the Court stated  that both a measure in the law that prevents voters from choosing their parliamentary representative and one that gives extra seats to the party that receives the most votes are unconstitutional.