General legal framework

• Author: Favilli, Chiara
• Pages: 15-15

15

1GENERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Constitutional provisions on protection against discrimination and the

promotion of equality

The constitution of Italy includes the following articles dealing with non-discrimination:

Article 3: provides a general clause. It recognises equal dignity and equality under

the law without distinction on the grounds of sex, race, language, religion (belief is

not mentioned per se), political opinion and personal or social conditions. The

grounds of discrimination listed in Article 3 are more restricted than those

mentioned in Article 19 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union

(TFEU);however, the list has been interpreted as non-exhaustive and the

‘reasonable clause test’ has been applied by the Constitutional Court to any ground

of unjustified difference and in any fields. Article 3 also includes the principle of

substantive equality and calls on the state to remove the social and economic

obstacles which limit the freedom and equality of citizens and prevent the full

development of the human being.

Article 8(1): contains a specific clause regarding freedom and equality of religions.

Article 37(1): contains a specific clause regarding sex discrimination in labour law.

Article 37(3): contains a specific clause providing for equal pay for equal work for

minors.

Article 51: contains a specific clause regarding equal access for women and men to

elected office.

These provisions apply to all areas covered by the directives and there is no restriction to

their material scope. Their material scope is broader than the scope of the directives.

These provisions are directly applicable in theory and can be enforced against private

actors (as well as against the state). However, there are not many cases of this type,

while the majority of judgments applying constitutional provisions are issued by the

Constitutional Court with regard to the validity of laws.