in Rome, the seat of the Council of Ministers and the
official residence of the
Prime Minister of Italy The functions of the Council of Ministers are disciplined by the Constitution (article 92–96) and by Law n. 400 of 23 August 1988.
Relationship with other parts of the political system The Council of Ministers within a Parliamentary form of Government (e.g., Italy) is the principal holder of
executive power – that is, the power to put a decision of the Italian political process into effect (i.e., execute it). • In relation to the
Parliament, the "
relationship of trust" (
rapporto di fiducia) is crucial. For the Council of Ministers and the Prime Minister to exercise their functions fully and continue to stay in office, they must retain the political support of both Houses of Parliament. The relationship of trust is the core of
parliamentary systems like the Italian one because it means that the Government is "responsible" to Parliament. • The
President of the Republic has the power to appoint the Prime Minister and the ministers. • The
regular judiciary is organised from an administrative-structural point of view by the
Minister of Justice; however, the independence of the judiciary in relation to the other parts of the state remains firm, as is made clear by the existence of the
High Council of the Judiciary which appoints, transfers, promotes, and disciplines members of the judiciary independently of the executive branch. The members of the Council of Ministers, even if they leave their positions, are subject to the jurisdiction of the courts for activities committed in their official capacity only with the authorization of one of the chambers of the Parliament (art. 96 of the Constitution).
Powers As the main organ of the executive power, the primary role of the Council of Ministers is the actualization of a given national policy. The Constitution provides it with the following means for doing this: •
Legislative initiative: The Council of Ministers can present
bills to the two Houses of Parliament. •
Decree power: The Council of Ministers can adopt two different types of decree that have the force of law (that is, with a legal power equivalent to laws approved by Parliament): the
law-decree (provisional) in matters of urgency and the
legislative decree (non-provisional) in cases where Parliament has expressly delegated legislative authority to the council. Frequent use of the decree power has seen substantial legislative power shift from Parliament to the Council in recent times. • The
law-decree (arts. 72 and 77 of the Constitution and art. 15 of Law n. 400/1988) is an act drafted by the Council of Ministers and passed by a majority of its members, but only in cases of the utmost need and urgency. Once passed, it enters into force immediately and is proposed to either House of Parliament for conversion into law. If the decree is not converted within 60 days, its effects become null and void. • The
legislative decree (art. 76 of the Constitution) is a tool by means of which the Houses decide (e.g., due to inadequacy or lack of time) not to discipline in a detailed way a particular subject-matter (except in cases that must be disciplined by ordinary law), while at the same time they adopt the principles and criteria (i.e., the "frame") within which Government will have to legislate. This binds the Government to follow specific limits, and is a law in itself (s.c. "delegating law"), which is approved by Parliament just like an ordinary law. Once the established deadline is passed, the Government can no longer legislate. Furthermore, should the Government not abide by the delegating law, it will exceed the delegation, which, if presented to the
Constitutional Court, the latter will decree the lack of constitutionality of the legislative decree in its part that exceeds the delegation. Just like the law-decree, the legislative decree is drafted by the council and passed by a majority of its members. It does not need conversion into law. •
Regulatory power: The ministers have two distinct but co-existing roles. They are, politically, the supreme executive authorities appointed by Parliament, but they are also the administrative heads of the State, the activities of which they direct in accordance with the political process. As administrators, the council and the individual ministers can produce "regulations" (
regolamenti), which are legal implements subordinate to legislation. Thus, regulations which contradict legislation (i.e. laws passed by parliament, law-decrees, legislative decrees) are illegitimate and can be set aside by ordinary judges and annulled by administrative judges.
Tasks of the president of the council and of the ministers • The president of the council directs the general policies of the government and is responsible for them. The president holds the unity of political and administrative direction by promoting and co-ordinating the activity of the ministers. • The ministers are collectively responsible for the acts of the Council of Ministers and individually responsible for the acts pertaining to their ministries. == List of current Italian ministers ==