Following a fourteen year wait, the State Council finally ruled in favor of UAAR’s position concerning a matter dating back to 2010. In November 2009, in Mandas, a small municipality of 2000 inhabitants, the Union of the Centre affiliated mayor Umberto Oppus issued an ordinance whose intent was that of imposing the presence of a crucifix within all public buildings.
The prescribed penalty for violating such an ordinance amounted to a fine of 500 Euros issued by the local police force, whom, in such an occasion can be regarded as somewhat of a morality police, highly resemblant to what can be found in Iran. The aforestated ordinance was issued primarily in response to the ruling of the European Court in Strasbourg, which was emanated following the appeal filed by Soile Lautsi, a member of the UAAR.
The ordinance remained in force for just a few months and was subsequently secretly and cleverly withdrawn by the extremely catholic mayor, only after having successfully positioned crucifixes in all public offices. In the meantime, the UAAR had promptly filed an appeal, which was eventually dismissed by Sardinia’s Regional Administrative Court in 2017. Finally, in due course, today has been the day when the State Council definitively ruled in favor of the UAAR, stating that the mayor had «overstepped [for what concerns] the powers vested in him».
In such a case, two main principles have been violated: the principle of legality – or rule of law – and the principle of typicity in relation to the administrative provisions. According to Italy’s highest Court for what concerns the safeguarding of administrative justice, the mayor could not have issued the aforestated ordinance, which was in no way justifiable by or compliant with any regulations in force.
Moreover, of crucial importance is the fact that, the mayor would have had to create and foster agreement and consensus within his own community, as elucidated by the Italian Court of Cassation in Joint Session ruling in the Franco Coppoli case. Therefore, the provision was, for all intents and purposes, illegitimate.
«This is a colossal victory for secularism – said Adele Orioli, in charge of the legal initiatives of the UAAR – coupled with somewhat of a halt to the “cleverness” of certain administrations. This decision has shown that, although a provision can indeed be retracted after having achieved its purpose, such a provision can subsequently be declared illegitimate, therefore granting in principle claims for compensatory damages».
«The legal initiatives of the UAAR allow our country to take the next step toward civility – said Roberto Grendene, national secretary of the UAAR – Had there not been the UAAR, with its robust structure, monetary assistance deriving from its members, its tenacity, and its lawyers like Francesca Laurini, sustaining fourteen years of litigation would not have been possible».
Fifteen years later, Umberto Oppus is still the mayor of Mandas. His time in office consisted of ten years between 2005 and 2015, followed by a new term started in 2020 and still ongoing. For what concerns the aforementioned ruling, Oppus stated that he «ought to respect the ruling. Nonetheless, the State Council came to such a ruling having a predominantly one-sided approach, insofar as the municipality did not appear before a judge.
Perhaps, with a more holistic vision of the facts of the case, we might have had a different ruling». Nonetheless, in virtue of the sentence, Oppus stated that looking back, he would not issue the ordinance again, insofar as «the world evolves. Secularism was one of the virtues most close to De Gasperi’s heart, but this does not imply the nullification of long-held historical and cultural traditions».
The Council of State’s hearing represents for the UAAR the fourth consecutive victory. The first victory occurred when the Cassation in Verona in 2020, followed by the Court of Appeals in 2022 enshrined the right of atheist propaganda, which was recognized to nonbelievers.
The second victory dates back to 2020, with Regional Administrative Courts aligning their train of thought with UAAR for what concerns the need to implement an alternative to the teaching of catholic religion within schools. According to the judges of the aforestated institution, the choice of alternative activities «has to occur within a reasonable timeframe in order to allow for the proper programming and start of the educational activities».
The fact that in 2021 the Joint Sessions of the Court of Cassation sentenced that the crucifix can no longer be arbitrarily imposed within classrooms, followed by the fact that Perugia’s Court of Appeals definitely closed Professor Franco Coppoli’s case can be seen as embodying the third victory for the UAAR. This fourth victory for the UAAR is monumental, insofar as it further reaffirms the principle of secularity of the State.
Press release