Author Archives: Riccardo Labianco

About Riccardo Labianco

Riccardo Labianco is a PhD candidate at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London. He is currently researching the legal framework of state-to-state military assistance during non-international armed conflicts. From SOAS, Riccardo also obtained his LL.M. in “Human Rights, Conflict and Justice”, during which he studied the role of the law in the demilitarisation of post-conflict societies. Before moving to London, Riccardo graduated in Law from the University of Trento, defending his final dissertation on the concept of citizenship in Israel and Lebanon. During the Master’s Degree, Riccardo spent two semesters abroad: in Finland, at Turku Law School and Åbo Akademi, and in Jerusalem, at the Hebrew University. Riccardo is a native speaker of Italian. He is proficient in English and has a good command of French; he also has a basic knowledge of Spanish and Arabic.

President Mattarella’s Refusal to Promulgate a Law on the Financing of the Arms Industry

On 27 October 2017, the Presidente della Repubblica Italiana (President of the Italian Republic, hereinafter President), Mr. Sergio Mattarella, refused to promulgate the law[1] drafted and approved by the Parliament titled “Misure per contrastare il finanziamento delle imprese produttrici di mine antipersona, di munizioni e sub munizioni a grappolo” (Measures to combat the financing of firms manufacturing antipersonnel landmines, cluster munitions and submunitions, hereinafter Law no. 57)[2]. In the Italian constitutional system, in order for a law to enter into force the President has to promulgate it, according to Article 73 of the Constitution. To this end, Article 74 confers the President the power to require that the law undergoes a new debate in the two Houses of the Parliament, expressing the reasons for such a request. As explained in the opinion sent to the Senato della Repubblica (Senate of the Republic) and the Camera dei Deputati (Chamber of Deputies), the President identified two problematic features of the law, which are here illustrated.

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The 2016 Practice of Italy on Arms Exports

During 2016, the Italian Government was often questioned before the Parliament about arms exports from Italy to countries where either a conflict was occurring or international norms were being violated. The statements by the different members of the Government highlighted a heterogeneous practice, contingent upon different variables, some of which related to the presence of international measures and others to political considerations of the Government itself.

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