La CEDU, strumento vivente da 75 anni, e l’Italia: un’introduzione.

Seventy-five years after the adoption of the European Convention on Human Rights in Rome, and more than seventy years after Italy’s ratification, the Convention remains a cornerstone of the European human rights system. This introductory chapter examines the ECHR as a ‘living instrument’ and focuses on its impact on the Italian legal order. The living instrument doctrine, developed by the European Court of Human Rights, has enabled the Convention to adapt to evolving social, political and legal realities, ensuring its continued relevance in addressing contemporary challenges. Through evolutive interpretation, the Court has progressively expanded the scope of Convention rights and contributed to the construction of a European public order based on democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. The chapter further explores the multifaceted influence of the ECHR on Italy, both at the systemic and substantive levels. It highlights the gradual incorporation of Convention standards into domestic law, the growing role of Italian courts in applying ECtHR case-law, and the Convention’s transformative effects in fields such as criminal justice, family law, gender-based violence, and migrants’ rights. While persistent difficulties in the execution of certain ECtHR judgments reveal ongoing challenges, the overall trajectory is presented as largely successful. Finally, the chapter reflects on emerging tensions in the relationship between Italy and the Convention system. Recent political initiatives advocating a restrictive interpretation of the ECHR, particularly in migration matters, raise questions about the future direction of the living instrument doctrine.