Referendum, democrazia e contenzioso. Il caso italiano del 2016

Referenda, democracy and constitutional litigation: the Italian case of 2016 – In Italy, the constitutional referendum of 2016 (the third of its kind, after the referendums of 2001 and 2006) was preceded by judicial controversies before civil and administra-tive courts and also, briefly, before the Constitutional Court. The essay summarizes the issues at stake, as well as the points of convergence and divergence of the different rul-ings. It conclusively points to the highly objective and institutional guarantees surround-ing amendments of the Constitution, and to the central role of the Parliament in this procedure.