Le assemblee rappresentative nel governo multilivello: alcuni spunti problematici

Aristide CANEPA: Le assemblee rappresentative nel governo multilivello: alcuni spunti problematici (Representative Assemblies in the Multi-Level Government: Some Problematical Starting Points) Abstract: The work is the result of prof. Canepa’s participation in a “Progetto di Ricerca di Interesse Nazionale” (National Interest Research Project) granted in 2004 by the Ministry of University and coordinated by prof. Michele Scudiero (University of Naples-“Federico II”), about “Local Authorities and the Centre in the Perspective of State’s Federal Reform and European Integration Process”. Prof. Canepa was the coordinator of the research unit of the University of Genoa, in charge of “The territorial organization of the State in the perspective of evolution of the European institutions: experiences and models in comparison”. Research Units from the Universities of Naples-“Federico II”, Cagliari, Cassino, Eastern Piedmont, Sassari, Naples 2 and Milan also took part in the research. The research is focused on the changes in Italian representative assemblies role and organisation (both at national and regional level) following the different steps in the devolution process as well as in the European integration one. The work starts with a brief survey on the evolution of rules and jurisprudence about the allocation of legislative powers. It passes then to analyse the organizational means the assemblies adopted in order to monitoring and coordinating their legislative work with the work of the equivalent bodies at the other levels of government. The third step is the analysis of further instruments of preparation and inter-territorial coordination of the normative process (such as the Conference State-Regions, the Department of Communitarian Policies of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, etc.). The research seems to confirm a trend already existing in the more recent developments of parliamentary democracy, also independently from the processes here studied: a significant weakening of the role played by the assemblies in the legislative process, in favour of the role there played by the executive bodies. This is true both in the policy-making process (the choice about “whether”, “in which measure”, “when” and “on what” make law) and in the more technical dimension of the legislative drafting. In a multi-level government system, the same need of coordination plays in favour of the role played by the Executives, due to both the larger suppleness of their working and their being in control of the administrative machinery. We can surely write about weakening of the national Parliament, whose legislative powers have been gradually reduced, through the years, in favour of the European institutions and, on the other hand, of the Regions. But also for the Regional Councils, theoretically strengthened by the devolution of new legislative powers to the Regions in the constitutional reform of 2001, it seems to be correct to write about a strengthening inferior to expectations and not proportionate to the dimension of such a devolution.