Enemies, symbols and emergencies. notes on immigration and constitutional democracy: (starting from an essay by Maria Cristina Cavallaro)

Abstract

The work takes its cue from an essay by Maria Cristina Cavallaro on the “administrative law of the enemy” and deals with the issue of compatibility with the constitutional principles of laws that identify certain individuals as enemies of the legal system. Elements of a “constitutional law of the enemy” can be found, for example, in recent legislation on immigration. More generally, the legislator increasingly refers to emergencies of several kinds to legitimize restrictive and afflictive measures against the “enemies” of the moment, producing in many cases a symbolic regulation of little effectiveness. In this essay, the Author argues that these tendencies are incompatible with the inspiring principles of constitutional democracy.