The Failed Reconciliation: The Role of the Judiciary in Post-fascist Italy and the Togliatti Amnesty
April 14th, 2025
The chapter “The Failed Reconciliation: The Role of the Judiciary in Post-fascist Italy and the Togliatti Amnesty” by Antonella Meniconi, featured in the book “Comparing Transitions to Democracy: Law and Justice in South America and Europe”, edited by Cristiano Paixão and Massimo Meccarelli, analyses a key moment in Italy’s transition, which took place in 1946. That year, the amnesty declared by Palmiro Togliatti gained particular significance not only because it occurred just a few weeks after the proclamation of the Italian Republic, but also for its broader symbolic value: it addressed the recent past of a country that was just emerging from the war and the fascist regime.
The chapter focuses on three main aspects: (1) the failure of the purge phenomenon, with particular attention to the top levels of the judiciary involved in the fascist regime; (2) transitional justice, implemented between 1944 and 1946 by the Supreme Court of Justice for Sanctions against Fascism and the Special Courts of Assize; (3) the wide application of the amnesty. Finally, the chapter emphasises that, while transitional justice was a crucial moment, it was also controversial in the difficult process of returning to democracy and the rule of law in Italy.
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