government: parliamentary republic
state of civil and political rights: Free
constitution: 1 January 1948; amended many times, last in 2020
legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislation under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
legislative system: bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consists of Senate (Senato della Repubblica) and Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)
judicial system: Supreme Court of Cassation or Corte Suprema di Cassazione (consists of the first president (chief justice), deputy president, 54 justices presiding over 6 civil and 7 criminal divisions, and 288 judges; an additional 30 judges of lower courts serve as supporting judges; cases normally heard by 5-judge panels; more complex cases heard by 9-judge panels); Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (consists of the court president and 14 judges); various lower civil and criminal courts (primary and secondary tribunals and courts of appeal)
religion: Christian 80.8% (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehovah's Witnesses and Protestants), Muslim 4.9%, unaffiliated 13.4%, other 0.9% (2020 est.)
death row:
year of last executions: 0-0-0
death sentences: 0
executions: 0
international treaties on human rights and the death penalty:
situation: