Methods of Implementation of the Community Acquis Into National Legal Systems and Ways of Ensuring Direct Effectiveness for Acquis Norms, as Illustrated by the Italian System, with Regard to the Autonomic Status of Regions

Abstract

Although the superiority and precedence of the communitarian law in legal orders of the member states is generally accepted from the systemic or structural perspectives, the implementation of the above principles is not uniform and unquestionable. This is due to the following: nearly every member state desires to retain as much sovereign power as possible, constitutions of the states specify the character of their legal systems, and the fact that the division of competences between the Communities and the member states is not always precise and clear-cut.

The judgements passed by some local constitutional tribunals are a manifestation of national particularism. The picture becomes even more blurred if the constituent parts of a given state (regions or states) have a greater legal autonomy. The case of Italy provides an interesting and instructive solutions (also in the context of Poland's problems in this area), where Article 11 of the Constitution is invoked to introduce the self-executability of the treaties via ordinary legislation, and to resolve problems posed by substantial autonomy of local self-governments, especially regional ones. Moreover, every year a framework law is enacted in order to harmonise and execute the acquis norms.