Art. 134

The Constitutional Court shall pass judgement on: controversies on the constitutional legitimacy of laws and enactments having the force of law issued by the State and the Regions; conflicts arising from allocation of powers of the State and those powers allocated to State ...

and Regions, and between Regions; accusations made against the President of the Republic and the Ministers, according to the provisions of the Constitution.

Art. 135

The Constitutional Court shall be composed of fifteen judges, a third nominated by the President of the Republic, a third by Parliament in joint sitting and a third by the ordinary and administrative supreme Courts.

The judges of the Constitutional Courts shall be chosen from among judges, including those retired, of the ordinary and administrative higher Courts, from full university professors of law and lawyers with at least twenty years practice.

Judges of the Constitutional Court shall be nominated for nine years, beginning in each case from the day of their swearing in, and they may not be re-appointed.

At the expiry of their term, the constitutional judges shall leave office and the exercise of the functions thereof.

The Court shall elect from among its members, in accordance with the rules established by law, a President, who shall remain in office for three years and may be re-elected, respecting in all cases the expiry term for constitutional judges.

The office of constitutional judge shall be incompatible with membership of Parliament, of a Regional Council, the practice of the legal profession, and with every appointment and office indicated by law.

In impeachment procedures against the President of the Republic, apart from the ordinary judges of the Court, there shall also be sixteen members chosen by lot from among a list of citizens having the qualification necessary for election to the Senate, which the Parliament prepares every nine years through election using the same procedures as those followed in appointing ordinary judges.

Art. 136

When the Court declares the constitutional illegitimacy of a law or enactment having the force of law, the law ceases to have effect from the day following the publication of the decision.

The decision of the Court shall be published and communicated to the Houses and to the Regional Councils concerned, so that, wherever they deem it necessary, they shall act in conformity with constitutional procedures.

Art. 137

A constitutional law shall establish the conditions, the forms, the terms for proposing judgements on constitutional legitimacy, and the guarantees of the independence of the constitutional judges.

Ordinary laws shall establish the other provisions necessary for the constitution and the functioning of the Court.Against the decision of the Constitutional Court no appeals are allowed.

Art. 138

Laws amending the Constitution and other constitutional laws shall be adopted by each House after two successive debates at intervals of not less than three months, and shall be approved by an absolute majority of the members of each House in the second voting.

Said laws are submitted to a popular referendum when, within three months of their publication, such request is made by one-fifth of the members of a House or five hundred thousand voters or five Regional Councils.

The law submitted to referendum shall not be promulgated if not approved by a majority of valid votes.

A referendum shall not be held if the law has been approved in the second voting by each of the Houses by a majority of two-thirds of the members.

Art. 139

The form of Republic shall not be a matter for constitutional amendment.