On 4 March 2020, Professor Sciarra, judge at the Italian Constitutional Court since 2014 and first woman elected by the Italian Parliament to this institution, presented on “Constitutional Courts and Austerity Measures”. By analyzing recent Italian constitutional case law dealing with the consequences of austerity, she addressed the limits and potential of how constitutional courts protect social rights and rights of workers. She also discussed the new trend at the Italian Constitutional Court of opening up to the public via a series of public talks in prisons and schools to bring this institution closer to everyone, as well as by the change in the constitutional court’s bylaws allowing for amici curiae and experts to intervene in the procedure.
