L’attivazione del potere istruttorio tra forme consolidate e scelte innovative : riflessioni a margine della sentenza costituzionale n. 197 del 2019

On the 2 nd of July 2019, the Italian Constitutional Court decided upon an appeal filed by the State against the regional law n. 8/2018, passed by Sicily. The judgment, following a wellsettled case law on article 81 of the Constitution, affirmed that part of the articles challenged are unconstitutional. As for the remaining articles, the Court postponed the decision and delivered an investigative injunction, asking Sicily and the Italian Government to provide further data. The paper reflects on this uncommon use of the Court’s investigative powers, both for its procedural effects and its broader meaning within the judicial review of legislation.