Abstract

The case law of the Italian Constitutional Court often refers to a collective «social consciousness» (coscienza sociale) and its transformations as one of the arguments that affect decisions on the enduring compatibility of a law with a given Constitutional provision. References to social consciousness are however ambiguous: what is the nature of arguments invoking the social consciousness in the Constitutional case law? Which factors contribute to determine the anachronism of a law, and its consequent mismatch with the social consciousness? And, finally, which constitutional bodies would be in a position to adequately observe the relevant transformations? To answer these questions the article first offers a taxonomy of the situations in which a reference to the social consciousness appears in the case law of the Italian Constitutional Court. The article then envisions the contours and limits of a collaboration between Parliament and Constitutional Court towards detecting relevant transformations in the social consciousness and their translation into positive law.