Contextualising the March 2026 Constitutional Referendum

• Department of Law

The Constitutional Law and Politics Working Group is organising a discussion for the event series “Contemporary Developments in Constitutional Law.”

In this edition of the event series Contemporary Developments in Constitutional Law we will be discussing the March 2026 Italian constitutional referendum. Whilst the referendum did not pass, the attempt to reform the Italian judiciary can still serve as a starting point for important debates. Why did the referendum fail? Is there need for reform of the Italian judiciary – and did this referendum address the weak points of the system? Can this be classified as a populist attempt at capturing the judiciary? How does it relate to past constitutional reform attempts in Italy? Why has it been so (politically) difficult to amend the Italian constitution – and should this be changed? 

To answer these questions, we are delighted to host Cristina Dallara, Associate Professor at the Political Science Department of the University in Bologna, and Giuseppe Martincio, Full Professor of Comparative Law at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies.

All interested fellows, PhD researchers, professors and visiting academics are invited to participate.