Article 47 of the Charter in the Italian Legal System - The Pervasive Application of a Provision Perceived as the Expression of a Common Legal Heritage

Starting from the proclamation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Article 47 has had an extraordinary application in the Italian legal system. References to this provision are made by all levels of jurisdiction and in a wide range of areas of law, including in cases falling outside the scope of EU law. Interestingly, this ‘pervasive’ application of Article 47 seems increasingly intentional rather than a consequence of the misinterpretation (or the lack of knowledge) of the scope of application of the Charter. In the authors ’ view, this trend highlights the judges ’ need to off er a coherent and non-fragmented reconstruction of the complex triangulation between corresponding fundamental rights in the Italian Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter.