Italy: From Fascism To the Republic (1943-1946)
| Date | 01 September 1948 |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591294800100301 |
| Published date | 01 September 1948 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
205
ITALY:
FROM
FASCISM
TO
THE
REPUBLIC
(1943-1946)
by
HOWARD
MCGAW
SMYTH
Alexandria,
Virginia
The
new
constitution
of
Italy
which
went
into
force
with
its
promulga-
tion
on
December
27,
1947/
establishes
a
system
of
government
so
radically
different
from
that
of
the
Fascist
era
and
from
that
of
the
liberal
monarchy
as
to
signify
a
revolution.
Yet
from
the
overthrow
of
Mussolini
to
the
inauguration
of
the
Italian
Republic
there
was
no
revolution
in
the
sense
of
seizure
of
power
by
a
new
governing
class
and
revolutionary
establish-
ment
of
a
new
fundamental
law.
There
was
a
series
of
steps,
each
cloaked
with
the
legal
forms
of
the
antecedent
period.
Fascism
was
abolished,
the
dynasty
was
ushered
out,
a
republican
constitutional
system
was
developed
and
adopted
without
civil
war
except
for
that
war
incidental
to
the
re-estab-
lishment
of
Mussolini
as
an
Italian
Quisling.
This
transformation
in
Italy
from
monarchy
to
republic
appears
to
be
unique.
The
legal
continuity
of
the
transition
and
the
ingenious
use
of
old
forms
for
the
development
of
new
forces
cannot
as
yet
be
exhaustively
treated
but
the
outline
of
the
process
may
be
sketched
with
some
sureness.
In
this
transition
from
Fascism
to
the
constitutional
system
of
the
Republic,
five
distinct
phases
may
be
distinguished:
1.
Monarchic-military
dictatorship
(July
26-September
8,
1943),
with
the
promise
of
a
return
to
the
Statuto;
2.
The
regime
of
Badoglio
(September
10,
1943-June
4,
1944),
the
conflict
over
abdication,
the
institutional
question,
and
the
consti-
tutional
compromise;
1
Text
in
Gazzetta
Ufficiale
della
Repubblica
italiana
,
edizione
straordinaria,
December
27,
1947;
English
translation
in
U.
S.
Department
of
State,
Documents
and
State
Papers,
Vol.
I,
No. 1,
(April,
1948),
pp.
46-63.
206
3. Bonomi’s
provisional
constitution
(June
5,
1944-June
1945),
establishment
of
the
Lieutenancy
General
and
Decree-Law
No.
151;
4.
The
Consultative
Assembly
and
the
preparation
of
the
laws
for
the
Constituent
Assembly
(June,
1945-June
2,
1946) ;
5.
The
provisional
government
of
the
Constituent
Assembly
(June
2,
1946-December
27,
1947).
The
last
phase
was
determined
by
the
legislation
of
the
immediately
pre-
ceding
period
culminating
in
the
new
text
of
the
fundamental
law
itself.
Thus,
it
requires
no
special
analysis
in
regard
to
the
tranfer
of
sovereignty
from
dynasty
to
the
republic.
THE
FASCIST
CONSTITUTIONAL
LAWS
In
a
sense
the
developments
in
Italy
since
1943
are
analogous
to
those
by
which
Mussolini
established
his
dictatorship.
The
legal
basis
of
the
Fascist
system
is
to
be
found
in
certain
laws
which
quite
transformed
the
Statuto
Albertino
but
without
abolishing
it.
Thus
the
law
of
December
24,
1925
created
the
office
of
Head
of
the
Government
the
Prime
Minister,
independent
of
parliament
and
in
theory
responsible
only
to
the
King.2
2
This
law
was
fundamental
in
the
Fascist
system.
Emilio
Crosa
wrote:
&dquo;the
Fascist
system
may
be
defined
as
the
system
of
the
Head
of
the
Gov-
ernment,&dquo;
and
again,
&dquo;the
Capo
del
Governo
is
the
central
organ
of
the
constitutional
system
of
Italy
in
which
is
concentrated
the
competence
of
the
government.&dquo;3
The
law
of
January
31,
1926,
empowered
the
govern-
ment
(governo)
to
issue
decrees
with
the
force
of
law
in
certain
cases,
particularly
in
regard
to
the
executive
power
and
administration.4
4
The
law
of
December
9,
1928
established
the
Grand
Council
of
Fascism
as
the
supreme
organ
co-ordinating
and
uniting
all
the
activities
of
the
regime
(Art.
1),
authorized
as
an
organ
of
government
to
be
consulted
on
all
consti-
tutional
matters
(Art.
12).
The
last
stage
in
the
emasculation
of
the
Statuto
was
achieved
by
the
law
of
January
19,
1939
which
abolished
the
Chamber
of
Deputies
and
established
in
its
stead
the
Chamber
of
Fasci
and
of
the
Corporations.5
5
&dquo;The
creation
of
that
impotent
if
decorative
body
merely
marked
the
completion
of
the
process
by
which
Fascism
transformed
the
old
liberal
state
of
the
Statuto
into
a
totalitarian
state
where
all
power
is
concentrated
in
the
hands
of
one
man,
Il
Duce.&dquo;~
It
was
of
course
the
military
disasters
which
completely
destroyed
the
prestige
of
Fascism.
By
the
winter
of
1942-1943
three
different
elements
2See
for
instance
the
translation
in
William
E.
Rappard,
Walter
R.
Sharp,
Herbert
W.
Schneider,
James
K.
Pollock,
Samuel
N.
Harper,
Source
Book
on
European
Governments
(New
York,
1937),
Part
III,
pp.
11-13.
3Emilio
Crosa,
Diritto
costituzionale
(2nd
ed.;
Turin, 1941),
pp.
217,
259.
4
Rappard
and
others,
Source
Book
of
European
Governments,
Part
III,
pp.
14-16.
For
decree-laws
see
"Decreto,"
by
Benedetto
Liuzzi,
Enciclopedia
italiana,
XII,
pp.
470-72.
5
For
the
text
see
Gazzetta
Ufficiale
del
Regno
d’ltalia,
February
14,
1939.
6
Egidio
Reale,
"The
Italian
Constitution
under
Fascism,"
in
Foreign
Affairs
,
Vol.
18
(October,
1939),
p.
157.
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