The Regions and the Reforms: Issues Resolved and Problems Pending

The article analyzes the matter of the Regions, the constitutional reforms and its problems. It is carried out a historical overview on the implementation of Italian regionalism, the original Title V, the establishment of effective set up of ordinary Regions, also analyzing the reasons and causes - economic but also relating to the European integration - which led to the constitutional revisions of 1999 and 2001. Moreover, the essay analyzes the current constitutional system, focusing on: the division of legislative powers, the relevant provisions, the practice and the decisive role played by the case law of the Constitutional Court, as well as the rules concerning the Italian administrative system; in particular, the division of functions, the reorganization of administrative levels and the evolution of the role of the State-Regions Conference and other instruments of cooperation among the levels of government. Finally, the essay focuses on the implementation of fiscal federalism.