Guerra in Ucraina e lettura “costituzionalmente orientata” del principio pacifista

Abstract

War in Ukraine and ‘constitutionally oriented’ interpretation of the pacifist principle

The essay analyses the evolution in the interpretation of the “pacifist principle” enclosed in article 11 of the Italian Constitution in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine of 2022. As a matter of fact, the Italian ‘pacifist clause’ has been historically interpreted either as a strict ‘neutrality clause’ (save for wars for the defence of the homeland) or as a clause entirely dependent on international law in its actual functioning. However, the war in Ukraine, due to its unique features, has brought these two ‘historical’ interpretations to their extreme consequences, highlighting their shortcomings, and thus seemingly opening the way for a possible new ‘constitutionally oriented’ interpretation. The essay explores this possibility, arguing that the pacifist clause of article 11 must be interpreted in light of the system of constitutional fundamental principles and, therefore, of the system of values on which the republican Constitution was built.