When we talk about law, in the context of law, we can refer to a variety of meanings. In fact, we can understand the law both from a material point of view (normative act) and from a formal one (legal act).
In the material sense, the law is that legal act that has as its effect the creation, modification or repeal of general and abstract norms of a legal system.
With law in the formal sense, on the other hand, we mean those legal acts adopted by territorial entities to which legislative autonomy is recognized by the system, in compliance with the principle of separation of powers.
The term law can also be understood as the legal norm, or the set of rules that contribute to regulating the different areas of organized life.
The law, hierarchically speaking, places itself in a higher position with respect to other sources of law, with the exception of the Constitution of the State. In some legal systems, such as the Italian one, various types of law are distinguished according to their hierarchical position:
- ordinary law: subordinate to the constitution;
- constitutional law: has the same rank as the Constitution and for this reason is adopted with an aggravated procedure.
In some legal systems, such as the Spanish one, there is the organic law which in the hierarchy of sources of law is subordinate to the constitution and the constitutional law but has a higher rank than the ordinary law.
In Italy, legislative power belongs to:
- Parliament (ordinary laws);
- Regions with ordinary statute (regional laws);
- Autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano (provincial laws).
With regard to state law, the power of initiative belongs, in the areas determined by the Constitution, to:
- Government;
- each member of the Chambers;
- to the people (initiative signed by at least 50,000 citizens);
- CNEL
- Regional Council;
- To other bodies and subjects possibly identified by constitutional law.
Each bill presented is presented to a Chamber with the text that is examined, in accordance with the provisions of the parliamentary regulation, by the competent committee. The Chamber then approves it article by article with a final vote; the text of the law voted favorably by the majority of those present in the chamber is considered approved.
At this point the text of the law passes to the other Chamber which in turn examines it and approves it; if the approved text has been modified it passes again to the other Chamber which must vote again (“parliamentary shuttle”).
The text is definitively approved if it is voted, without any modification, by both Chambers. Subsequently the law is promulgated by the President of the Republic and published in the Official Journal.
