Chamber of Fasces and Corporations Camera dei Fasci e delle Corporazioni | |
|---|---|
| 30th Legislature of Kingdom of Italy | |
.svg) | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 19 January 1939 |
| Disbanded | 5 August 1943 |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 681[a] |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| No election Members nominated by PNF organs | |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Palazzo Montecitorio,Rome | |
Chamber of Fasces and Corporations (Italian:Camera dei Fasci e delle Corporazioni) was the lower house of thelegislature of theKingdom of Italy from 23 March 1939 to 5 August 1943,[1] during the height of the regime ofBenito Mussolini'sNational Fascist Party.
It was established on 19 January 1939, to replace theChamber of Deputies during the 30th legislature of Italy. Members of the chamber were called '"national councillors" (consiglieri nazionali) rather than deputies. The councillors of the chamber did not representgeographic constituencies, but the differenttrades and industries of Italy, thus reflecting thecorporatist idea offascist ideology.
Councillors were elected for terms of undetermined length and automatically lost their seats upon their defection from the branch they did represent. Renewal of the legislature was ordered by decree by theKing of Italy, on specific instruction of thehead of government (Mussolini).
The creation of the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations was the culmination of the progressive curtailment of the independence of theParliament of the Kingdom of Italy following Mussolini's formal proclamation of dictatorship in 1925. All other parties were formally banned in 1926, though Italy had effectively been a one-party state for a year before then. At the elections of1929 and1934, voters were presented with a single list of Fascist candidates chosen by theGrand Council of Fascism.
No elections took place in Italy between 1934 and 1946. Unlike earlier elections for the legislature held under theFascist era, popular suffrage was eliminated altogether. Instead, the lower house would be a body comprising representatives of the variouscorporations of Italy, fulfillingBenito Mussolini's vow of creating a "corporate state".
The candidates for the approximately 600 seats were nominated summarily by three organs: the Grand Council, the National Council of the members of the PNF, and the different corporations resembling the entire trade and industry of Italy, canalized through theNational Council of Corporations (Consiglio Nazionale delle Corporazioni), effectively in the hands of Mussolini and the PNF.
The Chamber of Fasces and Corporations shared the legislative powers with the Government and the Royal Senate.
The only bills that were actually discussed by the plenary assembly, both in the Chamber and in the Senate, were the ones regarding constitutional amendments, legislative delegation and budget laws; the other bills were directly examined and passed by the parliamentary commissions, unless the Chamber, with authorization from the Head of the Government, decided to debate it in the assembly. By order of the Head of the Government, even the laws that required approval by the plenary assembly could be approved directly by the commissions, should urgency reasons require it.
The powers of the Chamber was largely marginal, but it still exercised some influence onto the legislative process: according to Italian historianRenzo de Felice, the parliamentary commissions were often subjected to strong corporate influence, which the fascist government had to deal with.[2]
| N. | Portrait | Name (Born–Died) | Term of office | Party | Legislature | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| 1 |  | Costanzo Ciano (1876–1939) | 23 March 1939 | 26 June 1939† | 95 days | PNF | XXX (no election) | |
| 2 |  | Dino Grandi (1895–1988) | 30 November 1939 | 2 August 1943 | 3 years, 245 days | PNF | ||
