Courts as an arena of societal change? The Italian Constitutional Court's self‐restraint facing the legislator's uncertain discretion in seabed mining: A concrete counter‐example

• Published date: 01 May 2023
• Author: Giorgio Cataldo
• Date: 01 May 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/eulj.12491

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Courts as an arena of societal change? The Italian

Constitutional Court's self-restraint facing the

legislator's uncertain discretion in seabed mining:

A concrete counter-example

Giorgio Cataldo

*

Abstract

The article explores the difficult balance of interests in the Italian field of seabed mining. In recent years,

the regions, bearers of the local communities' social demands, claimed greater attention to sustainability,

while the State almost always privileged productivity. The Constitutional Court always took an attitude

of self-restraint, basically adhering to State reasons. Given this starting point, it is not entirely certain that

the European Court of Justice's 2022 ruling, which included the environmental interest alongside eco-

nomic concerns, will bring concrete developments. Indeed, although environmental protection falls

under constitutional principles from 2022, there is a complex framework of interests involved in the sec-

tor, from which political power suffers above all. Consequently, the reception of social demands makes

the effort of only the Court insufficient. The Italian case thus illustrates some of the constraints that c an

weigh on courts, especially constitutional courts, in their ability to constitute an arena of societal change.

1|WAR, DRILLING FOR HYDROCARBONS, SELF-SUFFICIENCY,

ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL NEEDS: AN IMPOSSIBLE SYNTHESIS?

Recent events on the Russian-Ukrainian front have brought to the fore an issue that, until now, had received less

attention: the energy self-sufficiency of States. This is particularly felt in Italy, where most of the demand for hydro-

carbons and other natural gases was supplied by Russia. The various scenarios of embargoes, disruption of relations

(including trading ones) and diplomatic crises are set to lead to a serious energy emergency, even in the short term.

Naturally, the Italian government has begun to try to find solutions at several levels. Beyond green policies, the

watchword has been ‘diversification’: reducing dependence on hydrocarbons from a single State by negotiating with

several countries for smaller quantities.

* PhD and former research fellow in Constitutional law, University of Salento, Legal sciences Department. Via per Arnesano, 73047 MONTERONI DI

LECCE (LE), Italy

Received: 20 September 2022 Revised: 8 February 2024 Accepted: 19 February 2024

DOI: 10.1111/eulj.12491

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and

reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2024 The Author(s). European Law Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

326 Eur Law J. 2023;29:326–339.

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/eulj