Italy
Courts in Italy
Two orders of courts — ordinary up to the Court of Cassation, administrative up to the Council of State — plus a dedicated Constitutional Court.
Facts on this page were checked against their sources on .
Italy has two separate orders of courts. The ordinary courts hear civil and criminal cases: the Justice of the Peace (giudice di pace), the tribunal (tribunale), the court of appeal (corte d'appello), and at the apex the Court of Cassation (Corte Suprema di Cassazione), which ensures "the exact observance and uniform interpretation of the law" and reviews points of law, not fact. The administrative courts hear disputes with public authorities: the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) at first instance and the Council of State (Consiglio di Stato) on appeal.
The same idea, explained generally
- What do courts do?
Courts resolve disputes, test the state’s case against individuals, interpret law, and review public decisions. This guide explains those functions and why judicial independence is structural.
- What is due process?
Due process is the requirement that the state follow fair, established procedures before it takes action against a person. This guide explains what it typically includes and how it differs between systems.
Sources
Sources
National ordinary courts — Italy (European e-Justice Portal)
European Commission (European e-Justice Portal) · International organisation · link verified 2026-07-26
The European Commission's e-Justice portal page on Italy's ordinary courts, read directly. Supports the ordinary hierarchy — justices of the peace (giudice di pace), tribunals (tribunale), courts of appeal (corte d'appello) — and that "the Court of Cassation (Corte di Cassazione or Corte Suprema di Cassazione) … is the supreme court in the judicial system".
National specialised courts — Italy (European e-Justice Portal)
European Commission (European e-Justice Portal) · International organisation · link verified 2026-07-26
The European Commission's e-Justice portal page on Italy's specialised courts, read directly. Supports the administrative-justice branch — the Regional Administrative Court (Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale, TAR) at first instance and the Council of State (Consiglio di Stato) on appeal — and the Court of Auditors (Corte dei conti). Establishes that administrative justice is a separate order from the ordinary courts, with its own apex.
The functions of the Court (Le funzioni della Corte)
Corte Suprema di Cassazione (Supreme Court of Cassation of Italy) · Court record · link verified 2026-07-26
The Court of Cassation's own English page, read directly. Supports that "in Italy, the Supreme Court is at the top of the ordinary jurisdiction" and that it ensures "the exact observance and uniform interpretation of the law" — the nomophylactic function, reviewing points of law rather than fact. The apex status is independently corroborated by the EU e-Justice Portal.
Constitution of the Italian Republic (1948) — official English translation
Corte costituzionale (Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic) · Legislation · 1948 · link verified 2026-07-26
The Constitutional Court's own official English translation (October 2023 edition), fetched as a PDF and text-extracted (confirmed by the research and verification passes; the Senate's English PDF was bot-walled, so this Court edition was substituted). Supports Art. 101 (justice administered in the name of the people; the judiciary subject only to the law), Art. 104 (the judiciary an independent branch; the High Council of the Judiciary/CSM), Art. 107 (the public prosecutor's guarantees), Art. 109 ("judicial authorities may directly avail themselves of the judicial police"), Art. 112 ("the public prosecutor shall have the obligation to initiate criminal proceedings" — mandatory prosecution), Art. 103 (the Council of State and administrative justice), Art. 116 (the five special-autonomy regions, with additional devolution over "justice" limited to the organizational requirements of the Justice of the Peace), Art. 117(2) — subparagraphs (l) "jurisdiction and procedural law; civil and criminal law; administrative justice", (h) "public order and security, save for local administrative police", (d) defence — establishing that all four justice functions are EXCLUSIVE State competence, and Arts. 134–135 (the Constitutional Court).