On the Decree Laws and the State of Siege During the Earthquakes in Messina and Reggio Calabria

Some of the measures taken by the government after the Calabrian-Sicilian earthquake – before the law of 12 January, especially Art. 6 and 14, conferred on it extraordinary powers – deserve meticulous attention. For they gave a new and characteristic shape to a power that the government has always abundantly employed, as is well known, but in very different circumstances and for very different purposes. The power in question is that of issuing urgent decree laws and of establishing the so-called civil state of siege. This latter power should be discussed separately, because, quite rightly, the view that it is a mere, particular manifestation of the former is not generally agreed-upon.