ORDER NO. 159
YEAR 2024
ITALIAN REPUBLIC
IN THE NAME OF THE ITALIAN PEOPLE
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
composed of:
President: Augusto Antonio BARBERA
Judges: Franco MODUGNO, Giulio PROSPERETTI, Giovanni AMOROSO, Francesco VIGANÒ, Luca ANTONINI, Stefano PETITTI, Angelo BUSCEMA, Emanuela NAVARRETTA, Maria Rosaria SAN GIORGIO, Filippo PATRONI GRIFFI, Marco D'ALBERTI, Giovanni PITRUZZELLA, Antonella SCIARRONE ALIBRANDI,
has rendered the following
ORDER
in the proceedings concerning the constitutional legitimacy of Articles 9, 11, and 14 of Puglia Regional Law No. 20 of August 12, 2022, concerning "Regulations for the Reuse and Requalification of Buildings and Amendments to Regional Law No. 33 of November 15, 2007 (Recovery of attics, porches, semi-basement rooms, existing interventions and unauthorized public areas)," initiated by the President of the Council of Ministers with appeal notified and filed with the registry on October 18, 2022, registered under No. 80 of the 2022 appeal register and published in the Official Gazette of the Republic No. 48, first special series, of the year 2022.
Having considered the appearance of the Puglia Region;
having heard the Reporting Judge Luca Antonini in the Chamber hearing of June 18, 2024;
having deliberated in the Chamber hearing of June 18, 2024.
Considering that, by appeal filed on October 18, 2022, and registered under No. 80 of the 2022 appeal register, the President of the Council of Ministers, represented and defended by the State Legal Counsel, initiated, among others, questions of constitutional legitimacy of Articles 9, 11, and 14 of Puglia Regional Law No. 20 of August 12, 2022, concerning "Regulations for the Reuse and Requalification of Buildings and Amendments to Regional Law No. 33 of November 15, 2007 (Recovery of attics, porches, semi-basement rooms, existing interventions and unauthorized public areas)";
that, at the close of Chapter I (Regulations for the reuse and requalification of buildings) of the challenged regional law, Article 9 contains a "[t]ransient provision" of the regulations introduced by the preceding articles, providing that "[b]uilding permits submitted and registered pursuant to Regional Law 14/2009 at the single building permits offices of the Apulian municipalities, before the date of July 29, 2022, shall be processed and concluded according to the provisions of the same" Puglia Regional Law No. 14 of July 30, 2009 (Extraordinary and urgent measures to support building activity and to improve the quality of the residential building heritage), concerning the so-called "Piano casa";
that, according to the appellant, this provision violates Article 117, third paragraph, of the Constitution, creating a derogation from both "the ordinary principle *tempus regit actum*", and the principle "of so-called double conformity," expressed by the institution of conformity assessment pursuant to Article 36 of Presidential Decree No. 380 of June 6, 2001, containing the "Consolidated text of legislative provisions and regulations on building matters (Text A)," a fundamental principle in the area of "territorial government";
that Articles 11 and 14, modifying, respectively, Article 1, paragraph 3, letter a), and Article 4, paragraph 1, of Puglia Regional Law No. 33 of November 15, 2007 (Recovery of attics, porches, semi-basement rooms and existing interventions and unauthorized public areas), defer "to the date of entry into force of this provision" the deadline of June 30, 2021, previously established for the volumetric recovery of buildings and for the housing recovery of attics;
that, with arguments common to both provisions just mentioned, the appellant argues, first of all, the violation of Articles 3 and 97 of the Constitution, where these are interpreted as allowing building interventions on existing buildings as of November 19, 2007, the date of entry into force of Regional Law No. 33 of 2007, thus resulting in a "retroactive cancellation" of the same regulations, with prejudice to those who have availed themselves of the possibility of recovering attics in the meantime, and also producing uncertainty about the fate of works already completed;
that, however, if interpreted, more plausibly, as referring to the date of entry into force of Regional Law No. 20 of 2022, namely August 16, 2022, the challenged provisions would constitute "a further extension of the application of the regulations concerning the recovery of attics [...], illegitimate on many grounds";
that, in fact, placing urban and building transformation interventions outside the provisions of the landscape plan, these would violate both Article 117, second paragraph, letter s), of the Constitution, conflicting with the choice of the national legislator "to leave the regulation of the use of landscape assets to planning," as explicitly stated in Articles 135, 143, and 145 of Legislative Decree No. 42 of January 22, 2004 (Code of cultural and landscape heritage, pursuant to Article 10 of Law No. 137 of July 6, 2002), and, consequently, Article 9 of the Constitution, which guarantees the protection of the landscape as a primary and absolute interest;
that, furthermore, Article 117, third paragraph, of the Constitution would be violated, in relation to Article 41-quinquies, eighth and ninth paragraphs, of Law No. 1150 of August 17, 1942 (Urban Planning Law), to the Decree of the Minister for Public Works adopted in agreement with the Minister of the Interior No. 1444 of April 2, 1968 (Non-derogable limits of building density, height, distance between buildings and maximum ratios between areas intended for residential and productive settlements and public or reserved areas for collective activities, public green spaces or parking areas to be observed for the purpose of forming new urban planning instruments or revising existing ones, pursuant to Article 17 of Law No. 765 of August 6, 1967), as well as to the agreement between the State and the Regions of April 1, 2009 (Agreement, pursuant to Article 8, paragraph 6, of Law No. 131 of June 5, 2003, between the State, regions and local authorities, on the act concerning measures for the relaunch of the economy through building activity), "on the so-called first Piano casa," expression of principles which, respectively: a) would allow building and urban transformation interventions only within the framework of urban planning; b) would require the necessary respect for urban standards; c) would preclude the recognition of building premiums for abusive buildings subject to regularization;
that, finally, Articles 11 and 14 of Regional Law No. 20 of 2022 would violate Articles 3 and 9 of the Constitution, due to the "intrinsic unreasonableness of the provision of the possibility of "full-fledged" recovery of building volumes relating to attics, even those recently built";
that, by document filed on November 14, 2022, the Puglia Region appeared in court, contesting the inadmissibility and unfounded nature of the questions of constitutional legitimacy of Articles 9, 11, and 14 of Regional Law No. 20 of 2022;
that, by brief filed on May 27, 2024, shortly before the public hearing scheduled for June 18, 2024, the respondent reported the adoption of Puglia Regional Law No. 36 of December 19, 2023, concerning "Regional regulations on building restructuring interventions pursuant to Article 3, paragraph 1, letter d), of Presidential Decree No. 380 of June 6, 2001 (Consolidated text of legislative and regulatory provisions on building matters) and other provisions," whose Article 8, paragraph 1, provided that "[c]hapter I and Articles 11 and 14 of Regional Law No. 20 of August 12, 2022 [...] are hereby repealed";
that, following this latest legislative intervention, upon unanimous resolution of the Council of Ministers of May 29, 2024, the President of the Council of Ministers, on June 5, 2024, filed a document withdrawing the entire appeal, "the interest" having ceased to exist, due to the repeal of all the challenged provisions and it not appearing that in the meantime these "have been applied";
that, on June 12, 2024, upon unanimous resolution of the Regional Government rendered on June 11, 2024, the Puglia Region filed a document accepting the aforementioned withdrawal of the appeal;
that, following the withdrawal of the appellant, the President of this Court, by decree of June 12, 2024, set the hearing of the appeal for the Chamber hearing of June 18, 2024.
Considering that the President of the Council of Ministers has withdrawn the entire appeal indicated in the heading, following a resolution of the Council of Ministers;
that the withdrawal has been accepted by the Puglia Region;
that the withdrawal of the appeal, accepted by the constituted opposing party, determines, pursuant to Article 25 of the Supplementary Rules for proceedings before the Constitutional Court, the extinction of the proceedings.
Having considered Article 26, second paragraph, of Law No. 87 of March 11, 1953, and Articles 24, paragraph 1, and 25 of the Supplementary Rules for proceedings before the Constitutional Court.
for these reasons
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
declares the proceedings extinct.
So decided in Rome, at the seat of the Constitutional Court, Palazzo della Consulta, on June 18, 2024.
Signed:
Augusto Antonio BARBERA, President
Luca ANTONINI, Reporting Judge
Roberto MILANA, Registrar
Filed with the Registry on August 2, 2024