Abstract

This article challenges the mainstream interpretation according to which delegated law-making through decrees by the government pursuant to art. 76 of the Italian Constitution would be based on a «double foundation of validity», both constitutional and legislative. I instead argue that the law of delegation is not a foundation of validity but a simple condition of validity of governmental decrees. This re-evaluation has important consequences on the dogmatic reconstruction of the institution. The critique challenges in particular the doctrine of limiti ulteriori (additional limits).