La sentenza 269/2017: la Corte costituzionale di fronte alla questione dell’efficacia diretta della Carta di Nizza e la prima risposta del giudice comune (Cass. ord. 3831/2018)

: The decision n. 269/17 of the Italian Constitutional Court should be seen as a historic stance on the relations between the national and Eu law, more precisely regarding the scope of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In particular, the Constitutional Court maintains that the Chart does not have direct effect and, therefore, every time that a contrast between national law and the Chart emerges, the national judge shall not set aside the national rule, but he must raise a question of constitutionality
before the Constitutional Court that will decide “in the light of the national parameters and, if needed, of the European ones”, ensuring that the rights laid down in the Charter are interpreted in accordance with the common constitutional traditions. The decision of the Constitutional Court is not isolated as other constitutional courts in the European Union have taken similar positions and, occasionally, even more extreme ones. The ruling can be regarded as an attempt from the Constitutional Court to reassert the centrality of its role in the protection of fundamental rights. However, it is not certain whether the judgment will stand since the European Court of Justice has not expressed itself yet and some national judges have already cast doubts on it, raising a question of constitutionality, that will give the Constitutional Court the occasion to either confirm or amend its decision.