Unlike what can be found in ordinary jurisdiction, the administrative judge has
historically shown a certain reluctance to make direct use of the Constitution as
a parameter applicable in the solution of the controversies submitted to him (or
her). In administrative jurisprudence the centrality of the law, inasmuch as norm
for the attribution and discipline of power, has long overshadowed the constitutional
dictation. This also explains why in the safeguarding of fundamental rights
the thesis has prevailed of the non-existence of the power that has deeply rooted
the relevant jurisdiction with the ordinary judge. In 2007, nevertheless, the Constitutional
Court recognized to the administrative judge sitting in exclusive jurisdiction
the capacity to know and safeguard constitutionally recognized rights as
well. Some Regional Administrative Court sentences have followed that offer a
new prospect for the safeguarding of fundamental rights vis-à-vis administrative
power. This is not denied but rather brought back to a constitutional legality able
to bind it to the full satisfaction of the citizen's claims. The essay prefigures the possibility of starting from this new prospect to reread the power of the administration
from an authentically constitutional standpoint.