A proposito di leggi regionali inutili

The article takes the instance of a concrete case (promulgation of Regional Law no. 21 of 2012 of the Molise Region), as starting point for a more general reflection on the quality of regional legislation. Since the Regions were pioneers in championing the formal and substantial quality of regulatory texts, this regional law is somewhat baffling since it is not only useless but even illegitimate. It is totally useless and unnecessary because at the time, the circumstances of the Molise Region were not such as to warrant the renewal of its institutional bodies, but even if this were the case, Legislative Decree 138 of 2011 that had amended the number of the members of the regional bodies would have applied (as occurred with other Regions). And it is illegitimate because it invades the field of competence of the Regional Statute (and of the electoral law). The right way to get rid of it would have been a statement of illegitimacy by the Constitutional Court had the Government challenged it. The Region can, however, expressly repeal this law, especially in order to avoid confusing this specific case with an attempt to attribute powers to ordinary law-making that instead belong exclusively to the Statute.