ORDER NO. 43
YEAR 2026
ITALIAN REPUBLIC
IN THE NAME OF THE ITALIAN PEOPLE
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
is composed of:
President: Giovanni AMOROSO;
Judges: 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, Massimo LUCIANI, Maria Alessandra SANDULLI, Roberto Nicola CASSINELLI, Francesco Saverio MARINI,
has issued the following
ORDER
in the constitutional legitimacy judgment concerning Article 2 of the Regional Law of Sardinia of 16 June 2025, no. 16, entitled "Implementation of Article 11, paragraph 4, of Law no. 21 of 1992 (Framework Law for the carriage of persons by public non-scheduled road services) and amendments to the Regional Law no. 21 of 2005 regarding the regulation and organization of local public transport in Sardinia,” initiated by the President of the Council of Ministers with an appeal served on August 13, 2025, filed with the Registry on the following day, registered under no. 33 of the appeals registry for 2025 and published in the Official Gazette of the Republic no. 39, special first series, of the year 2025, the hearing of which was set for the chamber of council session of February 9, 2026.
Having seen the statement of appearance of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia;
having heard Judge Rapporteur Giovanni Pitruzzella in the chamber of council session of February 23, 2026;
deliberated in the chamber of council session of February 23, 2026.
Having considered that, by an appeal served on August 13, 2025, and filed on the following day, registered under no. 33 of the appeals registry for 2025, the President of the Council of Ministers, represented and defended by the State Attorney General’s Office, raised issues of constitutional legitimacy concerning Article 2 of the Regional Law of Sardinia of 16 June 2025, no. 16, entitled "Implementation of Article 11, paragraph 4, of Law no. 21 of 1992 (Framework Law for the carriage of persons by public non-scheduled road services) and amendments to the Regional Law no. 21 of 2005 regarding the regulation and organization of local public transport in Sardinia,” in reference to Article 3, letter g), of Constitutional Law no. 3 of February 26, 1948 (Special Statute for Sardinia) and Articles 3 and 117, second paragraph, letter e), of the Constitution;
that the challenged provision inserted, after paragraph 2 of Article 39 of the Regional Law of Sardinia of December 7, 2005, no. 21 (Regulation and organization of local public transport in Sardinia), paragraphs 2-bis, 2-ter, 2-quater, and 2-quinquies, for the purpose of regulating the activities of subjects enrolled in the register of drivers of vehicles or watercraft used for public non-scheduled services;
that, by virtue of the aforementioned innovations, such subjects "receive transport bookings for chauffeur-driven hire services at the depot or premises, including through the use of technological tools that facilitate the meeting between the demand and supply of non-scheduled passenger transport services” (paragraph 2-bis) and record on a service log in electronic format the vehicle license plate, the driver's name, the date, the place and mileage at departure and arrival, the service start time, destination, and service end time, and the details of the service commissioner (paragraph 2-ter);
that the Regional Executive Council, upon proposal of the Councillor for transport matters, defines the procedural arrangements concerning the electronic transmission of data, "in compliance with what is established by State framework legislation” (paragraph 2-quater);
that, pending the adoption of such procedural arrangements, the subjects enrolled in the register of drivers of vehicles or watercraft used for public non-scheduled services may record the data "on a paper or electronic service log having the minimum contents already provided for by Article 11, paragraph 4, of Law no. 21 of 1992” (paragraph 2-quinquies);
that the challenged provision, in the opinion of the applicant, exceeds the more limited legislative competence conferred upon the Region by the Special Statute concerning transport on road and tram lines, without extending to the "shaping of a given economic sector based on specific characteristics of the operators,” which is reserved to the exclusive legislative competence of the State (Article 117, second paragraph, letter e), Constitution);
that, in particular, the regulation in question, by governing the contents and methods for maintaining the electronic service log and allowing its replacement with a paper version, conflicts with Article 11, paragraph 4, of Law no. 21 of January 15, 1992 (Framework Law for the carriage of persons by public non-scheduled road services);
that the challenged provision, in the part where it introduces paragraph 2-bis into Article 39 of the Regional Law of Sardinia no. 21 of 2005 and permits the receipt of transport bookings for chauffeur-driven hire services also through the use of technological tools aimed at facilitating the meeting between demand and supply, also conflicts with Article 3 of the Constitution "firstly under the aspect of the rationality and adequacy of the regulatory intervention” and, secondly, under the aspect of equality, as it would give rise to differentiated systems for operators in the same sector;
that the Autonomous Region of Sardinia entered the proceedings, with an act filed on September 22, 2025, and requested that the constitutional legitimacy issues be declared inadmissible or, in any event, unfounded;
that, according to the regional defense, the complaints regarding the discrepancy between the State legislation and the challenged regulation are generic;
that the grievances, on the merits, are in any case unfounded, as the challenged regulation is an expression of the primary legislative power in matters of transport on road and tram lines and expressly requires compliance with State framework legislation;
that the exclusive legislative competence of the State in the matter of "protection of competition” cannot be so pervasive as to deprive the Regions of any margin for intervention in the exercise of the legislative competences attributed to them;
that on January 30, 2026, the President of the Council of Ministers, following the concurring resolution of the Council of Ministers of January 29, 2026, filed an act of withdrawal of the appeal, based on the considerations set out in this Court’s Judgment no. 163 of 2025, which found an undue interference in regional competencies in the State implementing legislation of the primary regulation, also cited in support of the challenge;
that the withdrawal was accepted by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia by an act dated February 5, 2026, filed on the same date, following the concurring resolution of the Regional Executive Council of the previous day.
Considering that the President of the Council of Ministers has withdrawn the appeal indicated in the heading;
that the withdrawal has been accepted by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia;
that the withdrawal of the appeal, accepted by the constituted counterparty, determines, pursuant to Article 25 of the Supplementary Rules for proceedings before the Constitutional Court, the termination of the proceedings (most recently, Orders no. 18, no. 15, and no. 14 of 2026).
for these reasons
THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
declares the proceedings terminated.
So decided in Rome, at the seat of the Constitutional Court, Palazzo della Consulta, on February 23, 2026.
Signed:
Giovanni AMOROSO, President
Giovanni PITRUZZELLA, Rapporteur
Igor DI BERNARDINI, Registrar
Filed in the Registry on March 27, 2026