Constitutional change

Statute of Sicily, 1946

A special autonomy statute was granted to Sicily by royal decree, later incorporated into the Italian Constitution, to defuse separatist unrest.

What happened

The Statute of Sicily was issued by royal legislative decree of King Umberto II on 15 May 1946, following a period of separatist unrest including a clash provoked by the 1944 Via Maqueda massacre, as the Italian state sought to defuse the Sicilian separatist movement by granting substantial autonomy.[1][2] It was converted into Constitutional Law No. 2 by the Italian Parliament on 26 February 1948, incorporating it into the Constitution of the Italian Republic.[3]

The Statute grants Sicily exclusive legislative competence over areas including agriculture, fisheries, tourism, forestry, local authorities, cultural heritage and the environment, financial autonomy under which taxes collected in Sicily remain with the region, and the transfer of most state property and assets, along with its own Regional Assembly, Executive and President and a High Court in Rome reviewing the constitutionality of regional legislation.[4][5]

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

  1. 1.

    Claim: The Statute of Sicily was issued by royal legislative decree of King Umberto II on 15 May 1946.

  2. 2.

    Claim: The Statute followed a period of separatist unrest, including a clash provoked by the 1944 Via Maqueda massacre, as the Italian state sought to defuse the Sicilian separatist movement by granting substantial autonomy.

  3. 3.

    Claim: The Statute was converted into Constitutional Law No. 2 by the Italian Parliament on 26 February 1948, incorporating it into the Constitution of the Italian Republic.

  4. 4.

    Claim: The Statute grants Sicily exclusive legislative competence over areas including agriculture, fisheries, tourism, forestry, local authorities, cultural heritage and the environment, financial autonomy under which taxes collected in Sicily remain with the region, and the transfer of state property and assets other than those relating to national defence or services of national character.

  5. 5.

    Claim: The Statute established the Sicilian Regional Assembly, the Regional Executive (Junta) and the Regional President, along with a High Court in Rome to review the constitutionality of regional legislation.

Source note

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