La dimensione del controllo parlamentare su segreto di Stato e intelligence alla prova delle crescenti esigenze di sicurezza degli Stati tra problemi aperti e prospettive: le esperienze di Italia, Francia e Belgio

The essay focuses on the parliamentary oversight on state secret and intelligence in the light of some experiences such as the Italian, French and Belgian ones. The issues of security and respect for democratic rules in the exercise of the Executive powers under state secret and intelligence are matters on which the legal systems are having to face more and more: they take political relevance just for the “sensitive” content of the inherent activities. Historically, the secret state and the activities of the security services have always been a prerogative of the Executive which had not only the monopoly of its use but also a total discretion in the definition of the rules relating to its use and its protection. Since some decades, however, all countries have revealed the need to guarantee full respect for the separation of powers and the rule of law through the provision of effective controls. The path towards un effective parliamentary control, however, has struggled to establish itself fully.