Category: Public Policy and National Security

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COVID-19 and Constitutional Issues in Italy

There is an increasing criticism of the constitutional legitimacy of government action in the COVID-19 emergency, and even in this specific area, there is inaccurate information circulating about the arbitrary “suspension of individual rights” and the centralization in the hands of the executive of (very) strong powers.

At least from a formal point of view, the rules are followed as the suspension of certain fundamental rights (freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, freedom of teaching, freedom of assembly and freedom of business activities) was ordered by decree-law no. 6 of 23 February 2020. Continue reading “COVID-19 and Constitutional Issues in Italy”

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COVID-19: Is the app that tracks users illegal?

“Apps” are multiplying for tracking users affected by COVID-19 and also in Italy – it seems – institutions are evaluating similar solutions while private entities have already developed software of this sort.

Inevitable, and often inappropriate, the alarms for the “violation of privacy” – as if the necessary limitations of the other fundamental rights that we are suffering were nothing at all – and those invoking the GDPR (which, I repeat ad nauseam, does not apply to the protection of public order and security, national security and other associated misfortunes and disasters). But this does not mean that it would be good to overlook the principles of the GDPR. Even putting aside regulatory precepts approaches based on need-to-know (do I need – or right – to process specific data? And who receives them?) and secure software design (OWASP exists “regardless” of the GDPR) are fundamental elements for the functioning of a digital ecosystem, especially in times of emergency. Continue reading “COVID-19: Is the app that tracks users illegal?”

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COVID-19: The outburst of the Campania Region’s Governor to expose a problematic enforcement of the national emergency legislation

The Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano publishes an outburst by the President of the Campania Regional Council, Mr De Luca, whose merit is agreeable, about the current status of the fight against COVID-19. Mr De Luca, moreover, exposes the confusion that characterises the measures issued by the Government (most recently – I add – those relating to the use of the army and the possibility of “doing sport” outdoor, which implicitly derogates from the prohibition established by the Prime Ministerial Decree of 8 March 2020). Continue reading “COVID-19: The outburst of the Campania Region’s Governor to expose a problematic enforcement of the national emergency legislation”

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COVID-19: Italy to deploy the Army

Repubblica.it writes that in Campania and Lombardy army units are deployed to enforce the ordinances on travel bans. Specifically, highlights the newspaper, that

114 military units of the Army of Safe Roads will be used directly in the control of the containment measures for the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Nothing strange so far, because the Italian Public Security Law provides for the possibility for the Minister of the Interior to make use of the armed forces in the event of a state of public danger.

Continue reading “COVID-19: Italy to deploy the Army”

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The short circuit of Rule of Law is the blackout of Democracy in Italy

The cases of regional governors and mayors who issue orders against the COVID-19 emergency are multiplying (Abruzzo is only the last in order of time.) They are limiting the constitutional rights of citizens, imposing administrative sanctions and using the municipal police as a security force while claiming to “abide the law”.

These measures are illegitimate because only a Parliament-enacted law, even and above all and in emergency, can compress Constitution-granted rights. Government and Parliament cannot let this constitutional rip with impunity. In doing so, they would legitimize the concept that in times of emergency “whoever does is right”, and then – when the storm is gone – somebody will verify the legitimacy of it. Continue reading “The short circuit of Rule of Law is the blackout of Democracy in Italy”