Rappresentanza gratuita: note a margine di Corte costituzionale, sentenza n. 198 del 2024 sulle indennità dei consiglieri metropolitani della legge regionale sarda n.17 del 2023

The paper analyses the costs of local representation in the light of judgment no. 198of 2024, examining the regulatory implications of the Delrio Law on Metropolitan Cities and the prohibition of indemnities for local administrators. The analysis is part of the framework of the protections outlined by the Constitution and the European Charter of Local Self-Government, an international treaty ratified by the member states of the Council of Europe to protect the self-determination of local authorities. The ruling allows us to highlight the delicate (and unpopular)issue of the balance between the need to ensure adequate remuneration for the representatives who preside over the bodies of intermediate bodies, to encourage qualified governance, and the obligation to contain public spending. Therefore, the paper explores the relationship between national legislation and obligations deriving from the 1985 Charter, supporting the necessary reflection on a greater consideration of the provisions contained therein as parameters interposed in judgments of constitutional legitimacy