The Governments of Europe Part 32

[Footnote 549: Art. 36. Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, II., 10.]

III. THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES--PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE

*413. Composition: Franchise Law of 1882.*--The lower legislative chamber is composed of 508 members chosen by the voters of the realm under the provisions of the electoral law of March 28, 1895. In no country of western Europe is the privilege of the franchise more restricted than in Italy; yet progress toward a broadly democratic scheme of suffrage has been steady and apparently as rapid as conditions have warranted. The history of the franchise since the establishment of the present kingdom falls into three periods, delimited by the electoral laws of 1882 and 1895. Prior to 1882 the franchise was, in the main, that established by the electoral law of December 17, 1860, modified by amendments of July, 1875, and May, 1877. It was restricted to property-holders who were able to read and write, who had attained the age of twenty-five, and who paid an annual tax of at least forty lire. Under this system less than two and a (p. 376) half per cent of the population possessed the right to vote.

In 1882, after prolonged consideration of the subject, the Government carried through Parliament a series of measures--co-ordinated in the royal decree of September 24--by which the property qualification was reduced from forty lire to nineteen lire eighty centesimi and the age limit was lowered to twenty-one years. The disqualification of illiteracy was retained, and a premium was placed upon literacy by the extension of the franchise, regardless of property, to all males over twenty-one who had received a primary school education. There were minor extensions in other directions. The net result of the law of 1882 was to raise the number of voters at a stroke from 627,838 to 2,049,461, about two-thirds of the new voters obtaining the franchise by reason of their ability to meet the educational qualification.[550]

An incidental effect of the reform was to augment the political influence of the cities, because in them the proportion of illiterates was smaller than in the country districts. Small landed proprietors, though of a more conservative temperament, and not infrequently of a better economic status, than the urban artisans, were commonly unable to fulfill the scholarship qualification.

[Footnote 550: Lowell, Governments and Parties, I., 157.]

The law of 1882 provided for elections by general ticket, i.e., on the principle of _scrutinio di lista_. An act of May 8, 1891, abolished the general ticket and created a commission by which the country was divided into 508 electoral districts, each ent.i.tled to choose one deputy. By a law of June 28, 1892, there were introduced various reforms in the control and supervision of elections, and by another of July 11, 1894, new provisions were established for the revision of electoral and registration lists. Finally, March 28, 1895, there was promulgated an elaborate royal decree whereby the entire body of electoral laws enacted since the establishment of const.i.tutional government, and at the time continuing in operation, was co-ordinated afresh. The existing system was not altered fundamentally, although the method of making up the voting-lists was changed, with the result that the number of electors was somewhat diminished.

*414. The Franchise To-day.*--The Italian voter to-day must possess the following qualifications: (1) Italian citizenship; (2) age of twenty-one, or over; (3) ability to read and write; and (4) successful pa.s.sage of examinations in the subjects comprised in the course of compulsory elementary education. The last-mentioned qualification is not, however, required of officials, graduates of colleges, professional men, persons who have served two years in the army, citizens who pay a direct tax annually of not less than nineteen lire eighty (p. 377) centesimi, those who pay an agricultural rental of 500 lire, those who pay house rent of from 150 lire in communes of 2,500 people to 400 lire in communes of over 150,000, and certain less important cla.s.ses.

So serious at all times has seemed the menace of illiteracy in Italy that the establishment of manhood suffrage has but rarely been proposed. Under the existing system the extension of education carries with it automatically the expansion of the franchise, though the obstacles to universal education are still so formidable that the democratizing of the state proceeds but slowly.[551] In 1904 the number of enrolled electors was 2,541,327--29 per cent of the male population over twenty-one years of age, and 7.67 per cent of the total population--exclusive of 26,056 electors temporarily disfranchised by reason of being engaged in active military service. At the elections of November, 1904, the number of qualified electors who voted was 1,593,886, or but 62.7 per cent of those who possessed the privilege.

The proportion of registered electors who actually vote is kept down by the prosaic character of Italian electoral campaigns, by the influence of the papal _Non Expedite_,[552] and, most of all, by the habitual indifference of citizens, who, if the truth be told, for the most part have never displayed an insatiable yearning for the possession of the voting privilege. With the exception of the Socialists, no party has a clear-cut, continuous programme; none, save again the socialists, attempts systematically to arouse the voters at election time.

[Footnote 551: King and Okey, Italy To-day, Chap.

12.]

[Footnote 552: See p. 400.]

*415. Electoral Reform.*--Notwithstanding these facts, there has been, in recent years, a somewhat insistent demand for electoral reform. The Luzzatti ministry fell, in March, 1911, primarily because a plan of suffrage extension which it had proposed was not to be put in operation before 1913. June 10, 1911, the Giolitti ministry which succeeded laid before the Chamber the text of a measure which, if adopted, would go far toward the establishment of universal male suffrage. The proposal was that practically all male citizens over thirty years of age, and all over twenty-one who have performed the military service required by the state, should be given the privilege of voting, irrespective of their ability to read and write. This project, after being debated at length, was adopted in the Chamber of Deputies early in 1912 by the enormous majority of 392 to 61. In the event of its final enactment the existing electorate will be increased from three millions to two and a half times that number and a general overhauling of electoral methods and machinery will be rendered necessary. The grounds upon which the change is urged are, first, (p. 378) the example of other nations and, second, the political and economic progress which Italy has achieved within the past generation. Serious students doubt whether the time is ripe for so radical a step. One half of the proposed electorate would be wholly illiterate.[553]

[Footnote 553: For the text of the Giolitti proposals see _Il Seculo_, June 11, 1911. On Italian electoral reform see A. Piebantoni, La riforma della legge elettorale (Naples, 1909); G.

Bandini, La riforma elettorale con la rappresentanza proporzionale nelle elezioni politiche (Rome, 1910); G. Sabini, La riforma del sistema elettorale in Italia (Turin, 1910); Siotto-Pintor, Estensione del suffragio e distribuzione della rappresentanza, in _Rivista di Diritto Pubblico_, Dec., 1911, and Le riforma del regime elettorale e le dottrine della rappresentanza politica e dell' elettorato nel secolo XX. (Rome, 1912).]

*416. Electoral Procedure.*--Save during the years 1882-91, when the _scrutinio di lista_ was in operation, deputies have been chosen uniformly from single-member districts. There are to-day 508 such districts. No candidate is returned unless he not only polls a number of votes in excess of one-sixth of the total number of enrolled electors within the district, but has also an absolute majority of all the votes cast. If, after balloting, it is found that no candidate meets this requirement, a second ballot (_ballottaggio_) takes place one week subsequently.[554] At each polling place the presiding officer and "scrutineers" are chosen by the voters present. The method of voting is simple. In the polling-booth stands a table, on which are placed two square gla.s.s boxes, one empty, the other containing the voting papers. As the list of enrolled electors is read alphabetically, each man steps forward, receives a ballot paper, takes it to an adjoining table and writes on it the name of the candidate for whom he wishes to vote, folds the paper, and deposits it in the box reserved for the purpose. After the list has been read through it is the right of any voter who was not present to respond when his name was called to cast his ballot in a similar manner. The polling hours extend, as a rule, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.[555]

[Footnote 554: At the elections of March, 1909, in 75 of the 508 districts no candidate received an adequate majority. In 57 of these districts the candidate who, at the first ballot, had received the largest number of votes was elected at the second ballot. The political effect of the second ballot is slight. At the election of 1900 there were 77 second ballotings; at that of 1904, 39. A.

N. Holcombe, Direct Primaries and the Second Ballot, in _Amer. Political Science Review_, Nov., 1911; A. F. Locatelli, Considerazioni intorno all'

opportunita di abolire il ballottaggio, in _La Riforma Sociale_, July-Aug., 1910.]

[Footnote 555: King and Okey, Italy To-day, 14.]

*417. Qualifications and Privileges of Members.*--A deputy is not required to be a resident of the district from which he is chosen. He must, however, be a citizen; must be at least thirty years of age; must be in possession of full civil and political rights; and must not belong to any of the cla.s.ses or professions whose members are (p. 379) debarred by law. All salaried government officials, all persons receiving stipends from the state, and all persons ordained for the priesthood or filling clerical office are disqualified outright.

Furthermore, while officers in the army and navy, ministers, under-secretaries, and various other higher functionaries may be elected, their number must never exceed forty, not including the ministers and under-secretaries. Neither senators nor deputies receive a salary or other compensation, a fact that undoubtedly accounts in some measure for the uniformly slender attendance in the chambers.

Members are permitted, however, to travel free throughout Italy by rail, or on steamers belonging to lines that have a government contract containing a stipulation upon the subject. Measures providing for the payment of members have been proposed from time to time, but none have received the approval of the two chambers. A measure of the sort introduced in 1882 by Francesco Crispi, when a deputy, was rejected by the lower house. More recently, in the electoral bill voted by the Chamber of Deputies in 1912 provision is made for the payment of deputies; but at the time of writing final action upon this project has not been taken. Deputies are elected nominally for a five-year period, which is the maximum duration of a parliament. In point of fact, a dissolution is practically certain to intervene before the expiration of the full term, and the average interval between elections is nearer three years than five. If for any reason a deputy ceases to perform his duties, the electoral district that chose him is called upon forthwith to elect a new representative.

*418. The Chambers: Organization.*--The const.i.tution does not prescribe definitely that the parliament shall be a.s.sembled annually. It stipulates merely that the sessions of the two houses shall begin and end at the same time, that a meeting of one house at a time when the other is not in session is illegal, and that measures enacted under such circ.u.mstances are void.[556] Custom and the necessities of administration, however, render it inc.u.mbent upon the crown to convoke the chambers in at least one session each year, unless, indeed, as has sometimes happened, a session is so prolonged as to extend, with occasional recesses, over an entire year, or even two years.

[Footnote 556: Art. 48. Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, II., 12.]

The president and vice-president of the Senate are designated by the crown, but the president, vice-presidents, and secretaries of the lower chamber are chosen by the chamber itself from among its own members at the beginning of each session, for the entire session. The president of the Deputies, although empowered to appoint certain committees, such as those on rules and contested elections, is not (p. 380) infrequently re-elected again and again without regard to party affiliations, after the manner of the Speaker of the British House of Commons. The membership of the Chamber of Deputies is divided into nine _uffici_, or sections, and that of the Senate into five. A fresh division, by lot, takes place every two months. The princ.i.p.al function of the _uffici_ is the election of those committees for whose const.i.tution no other provision is made. In each chamber the most important of all committees, that on the budget, is elected directly by the chamber. In the Deputies certain other committees are elected in the same way, while, as has been said, those on elections and on rules are appointed by the president. But committees specially const.i.tuted for the consideration of particular measures are made up of members chosen from the various _uffici_, unless the chamber prefers to designate some other method.

*419. The Chambers: Procedure.*--Each house frames its own rules of procedure. By the const.i.tution it is stipulated that the sessions shall be public (with the provision that upon the written request of ten members secret sessions may be held); that Italian shall be the official language; that no session or vote of either house shall be valid unless an absolute majority of the members is present; and that neither house shall receive any deputation, or give hearings to persons other than the legislative members, ministers, and commissioners of the Government.[557] Except such as relate to finance, bills on any subject may originate in either house, and at the initiative of the Government or of private members, though in practice all proposals of importance emanate from the Quirinal. The ministers appear regularly on the floor of the two chambers, to advocate the measures of the Government and to reply to inquiries. The right of interpellation is not infrequently exercised, though the debate and vote following a challenge of the ministry fall regularly after an interval of some days, instead of at once, as in the French system, thus guarding somewhat against precipitancy of action. A measure which is pa.s.sed in one house is transmitted to the other for consideration. After enactment in both houses, it is presented to the king for approval, which, in practice, is never withheld. A bill rejected by the crown, or by either house, may not be reintroduced during the same session. Votes are taken by rising and sitting, by division, or by secret ballot. The third of these methods is obligatory in all final votes on enactments, and on measures of a personal character. It is specifically enjoined that deputies (p. 381) shall represent the nation as a whole, and not the districts from which they are chosen, and to this end no binding instructions may be imposed upon them by the electors.[558] Except when taken in the actual commission of an offense, deputies are exempt from arrest during the continuance of a session, and they may not be proceeded against in criminal matters without the previous consent of the Chamber. Neither senators nor representatives may be called to account for opinions expressed, or for votes cast, in the performance of their official functions.

[Footnote 557: Arts. 52-54, 59, 62. Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, II., 12-13. In practice the requirement of the presence of an absolute majority of members is sometimes disregarded.]

[Footnote 558: Art. 41. Dodd, Modern Const.i.tutions, II., 11.]

IV. THE JUDICIARY

*420. General Aspects.*--The provisions of the _Statuto_ respecting the administration of justice are brief and general. Justice, it is declared, emanates from the king and is administered in his name by the judges whom he appoints. These judges, after three years of service, are irremovable. Proceedings of courts in civil cases and hearings in criminal cases are required to be public. No one may be withdrawn from his ordinary legal jurisdiction; and no modification may be introduced in respect to courts, tribunals, or judges, save by law.[559] On the basis of these principles there has been built up a system of tribunals which differs in but few important respects from the systems in operation in the other Latin countries of Europe. It consists, in part, of courts which have been carried over from the period preceding Italian unification and, in part, of courts which owe their existence to legislation subsequent to 1861. The model upon which the system has been developed is the judicial hierarchy of France, and it differs from this system in little save the existence, as will appear, of five largely independent courts of ca.s.sation instead of one.

[Footnote 559: Arts. 68-73. Ibid., II., 14-15.]

*421. The Ordinary Courts.*--For purposes of justice the kingdom is divided into 1,535 _mandamenti_,[560] 162 tribunal districts, and 20 appellate court districts. Within each _mandamento_ is a _pretura_, or magistracy, which exercises jurisdiction in civil cases and in cases of misdemeanors (_contravvenzioni_) and offenses (_delitte_) punishable by imprisonment not exceeding three months, or banishment not exceeding one year, or a fine not exceeding 1,000 lire. In (p. 382) minor civil cases, involving sums not in excess of 100 lire, jurisdiction is vested in justices of the peace (_giudici conciliatori_) who likewise, upon request, act as arbitrators in cases involving any amount. In each of thirteen of the largest towns there is a _pretura_ which exercises penal jurisdiction exclusively. Next above the _pretori_ stand the penal courts, one in each of the 162 tribunal districts. These exercise jurisdiction in the first instance in offenses involving a maximum imprisonment of ten years or a fine of more than 1,000 lire. To them appeal may be carried from the decisions of the _pretori_. Closely a.s.sociated are the courts of a.s.size, which possess original jurisdiction in cases involving a penalty of imprisonment for life, or for a period longer than a minimum of five, and a maximum of ten, years. Save when the Senate is const.i.tuted a high court of justice, these tribunals have exclusive jurisdiction of all press offenses and of all cases involving attacks upon the security of the state. As a rule, the courts of a.s.size make use of the jury. From their decisions there is no appeal, save upon a point of form, and appeal lies solely to the court of ca.s.sation at Rome. From the penal tribunals appeal lies, in cases not dealt with by the a.s.size courts, to the twenty courts of appeal.

[Footnote 560: Prior to 1901 the administrative and electoral _mandamenti_ and the _mandamenti giudiziarii_ were identical geographically, and there were 1,805 of them in the kingdom. By a law of the year mentioned the judicial _mandamenti_ were reduced in number to 1,535.]

At the top of the system stand five largely independent courts of ca.s.sation, located at the old capitals of Turin, Florence, Naples, Palermo, and Rome. Each of these exercises, within its own territory, final jurisdiction in all cases involving the ordinary civil law. The court of ca.s.sation at Rome, it is true, has been given exclusive jurisdiction in conflicts of competence between different courts, conflicts between the courts and the administrative authorities, the transfer of suits from one tribunal to another, writs of error in criminal cases, and a variety of other special matters. But, aside from this, the five tribunals are absolutely equal in function; there is no appeal from one to another, and the decisions arrived at by one do not const.i.tute precedents which the others are obligated to recognize. One of the most striking aspects, indeed, of the Italian judicial system is its lack of centralization; though it should be added that the centralizing principle which, since 1870, has dominated so notably all other departments of the government has been gradually winning its way in the judiciary.

*422. The Administrative Courts.*--In Italy, as in continental countries generally, there is preserved a sharp distinction between public and private law; but the separation of functions of the ordinary and the administrative courts is much less clear-cut than in France and elsewhere. In 1865, indeed, the surviving administrative courts of (p. 383) the states which had been drawn into the kingdom, were abolished and it was arranged that the ordinary courts should exercise unrestricted jurisdiction in all criminal cases and in all civil cases in which, by the decision of the Council of State, a civil or political right was involved. The system worked poorly and by laws of June 2, 1889, and May 1, 1890, a special section of the Council of State (composed of a president and eight councillors named by the king) was set off to serve as an administrative court, while at the same time an inferior administrative jurisdiction was conferred upon the _giunta_ (prefect and certain a.s.sistants) of the province. In practice to-day, when the legality of acts committed by the administrative officials is called in question, the ordinary courts exercise jurisdiction, if the question is one of private _right_; if it is one merely of private _interest_, it goes for decision to an administrative tribunal. In most continental countries _all_ cases involving the legality of official acts fall within the domain of the administrative courts.[561]

[Footnote 561: There is a brief description of the Italian judicial system in Lowell, Governments and Parties, II., 170-178.]

V. LOCAL GOVERNMENT

*423. Historical Basis.*--In her ancient territorial divisions Italy had once the basis of a natural and wholesomely decentralized system of local government. Instead of availing themselves of it, however, the founders of the present kingdom preferred to reduce the realm to a _tabula rasa_ and to erect within it a wholly new and symmetrical hierarchy of territorial divisions and governmental organs. By a great statute of March 20, 1865, there was introduced in the kingdom a system of provincial and communal organization, the essentials of which were taken over in part from Belgium, but more largely from France. The functions and relations of the various local agencies were amplified and given substantially their present form in the law of December 30, 1888, supplemented and amended by acts of July 7, 1889, and July 11, 1894. So closely has the French model been adhered to throughout that the resemblance between the two systems amounts almost to duplication. The system of Italy calls, therefore, for no very extended independent description.

The units of local government are four in number--the province, the _circondaro_, the _mandamento_, and the commune. Of these, the first and last alone possess vitality, distinct interests, and some measure of autonomy; and throughout the entire series runs that same principle of thoroughgoing centralization which is the pre-eminent characteristic of the local governmental system of France. The _circondaro_, (p. 384) corresponding to the French _arrondiss.e.m.e.nt_, is essentially an electoral division. Strictly, there are in the kingdom 197 _circondarii_; but 87 districts comprising the province of Mantua and the eight provinces of Venetia are, in all save name, _circondarii_ also. The 1806 _mandamenti_, or cantons, are but subdivisions of the provinces for administrative purposes.

*424. The Province: Prefect and Council.*--There are in the kingdom 69 provinces, varying considerably in size but with an average population of 450,000 to 500,000. The Italian province corresponds closely to the French department. At its head is a prefect, appointed by the crown and directly responsible to the Minister of the Interior. Like the French prefect, the Italian is a political official, and the fact not merely influences his appointment but affects greatly his conduct in office. As representative and agent of the central government the prefect publishes and executes the laws, supervises the provincial administration, opens and closes sessions of the provincial council and sanctions or vetoes the measures of that body, and safeguards in general the interests of the Government in the province.

Within each province is a council of from 20 to 60 members, elected for a period of six years on a franchise somewhat broader than that which prevails in parliamentary elections. One-half of the membership is renewed triennially. The council meets regularly once each year, nominally for a month's session; but an extraordinary session may be convened at any time by the prefect, by the deputation, or upon call of one-third of the councillors. Aside from the voting of the provincial budget, the powers of the council are relatively meager. In part, e.g., in respect to the maintenance of highways, the control of secondary and technical education, and a share in the supervision of charity, they are obligatory; in part they are merely permissive. A deputation, or commission, of from six to ten persons, elected by the council from its own membership, represents the council in the intervals between its sittings and carries on the work which it may have in hand. The prefect is advised by a prefectorial council of three members appointed by the Government, and he is further a.s.sisted by a _giunta_ of six members, four of whom are elected by the provincial council, the other two being drawn from the prefectorial council. It is the business of the _giunta_ to a.s.sist the prefect and sub-prefects in the supervision of local administration and to serve as a tribunal for the trial of cases arising under the administrative law. The prefect and the _giunta_ possess large, and to a considerable degree, discretionary powers of control over the proceedings of the council; and the prefect, representing as he does the central government exclusively, can be called to account only by his superiors at (p. 385) Rome.

*425. The Commune: Syndic and Council.*--As in France, the commune is the least artificial and the most vigorous of the local governmental units. In June, 1911, there were in Italy a total of 8,323 communes, besides four boroughs in Sardinia not included in the communal organization. Each commune has a council of from 15 to 80 members, according to its population, elected for a period of six years, one-half retiring every three years. The communal franchise is appreciably broader than the parliamentary. It extends to all Italian citizens twenty-one years of age who can read and write, provided they are on the parliamentary list, or pay any direct annual contribution to the commune, or comply with various other very easy conditions. The council holds two regular sessions a year, though in the large towns it, in point of fact, meets much more frequently. Between sittings its work is carried on by a _giunta_, which serves as a committee to execute the resolutions of the council and to draft its budget and by-laws. The powers of the council are comprehensive. It is obligated to maintain streets, roads, and markets; to provide for elementary education; to make suitable arrangements for the relief of the poor, the registration of births and deaths, and of electors; to establish police regulations and prisons; and, under varying conditions, to attend to a wide variety of other matters. The range of its optional activities is almost boundless. The council may establish theatres, found museums, subsidize public amus.e.m.e.nts, and, indeed, go to almost any length in the regulation of local affairs and the expenditure of local funds.[562]

[Footnote 562: For an arraignment of the extravagance of the local governing authorities see King and Okey, Italy To-day, 267.]

As its chief official, every commune has a _sindaco_, i.e., a syndic, or mayor. Prior to 1896 the syndic was chosen by the communal council from its own members, if the commune had more than 10,000 inhabitants, or was the capital of a province or _circondaro_; otherwise he was appointed from among the members of the council by the king. In the great majority of communes the procedure was of the second type. Since 1896 the syndic has been chosen regularly in all communes by the council, for a term of three years, together with a secretary, elected in the first instance for two, but afterwards for periods of not less than six, years. Despite the fact that the syndic is now elected universally by the communal council, his position is not that exclusively of executive head of the local community. Like the prefect, he is a government official, who, save under very exceptional circ.u.mstances, may be removed only with the prefect's permission. He may not be called to account except by his superiors, or sued save (p. 386) with the permission of the crown.[563]

[Footnote 563: For a brief account of local government in Italy see King and Okey, Italy To-day, Chap. 14. More extended treatment will be found in E. del Guerra, L'Amministrazione pubblica in Italia (Florence, 1893) and G. Greco, Il nuova diritto amministrativo Italiano (Naples, 1896).]

CHAPTER XXI (p. 387)

STATE AND CHURCH--POLITICAL PARTIES

I. QUIRINAL AND VATICAN

Italy differs from other nations of importance in containing what is essentially a state within a state. The capital of the kingdom is likewise the capital of the Catholic world--the administrative seat of a government which is not only absolutely independent of the government of the Italian nation but is in no small degree antagonistic to it. It need hardly be remarked that the consequences of this anomalous situation affect profoundly the practical operations of government, and especially the crystallization and programmes of political parties, in the peninsula.