Francesco Paolo Bonifacio (3 May 1923 – 14 March 1989) was an Italian politician, jurist and academic. He served as Minister of Justice and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Constitutional Court of Italy The Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic () is the highest court of Italy in matters of constitutional law. Sometimes, the name ''Consulta'' is used as a metonym for it, because its sessions are held in Palazzo della Consulta in Rome. ...

Biography

Bonifacio was born in

Castellammare di Stabia Castellammare di Stabia (; ) is a (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region, in southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento. History Castellammare di Stabia ...

, near

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. He was one of the youngest

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

s of

Roman Law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

at the

University of Cagliari The University of Cagliari () is a public research university in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. It was founded in 1606 and is organized in 11 faculties. History The ''Studium Generalis Kalaritanum'' was founded in 1606 along the lines of the old ...

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

and

, a position he held until February 1963, when he was elected by the

Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...

as a judge of the Italian Constitutional Court. He was then elected as the eighth President of such Court from February 1973 to October 1975. In 1964 Bonifacio was awarded Italy's highest honor: the Republic's

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Knighthood (Cavaliere di Gran Croce della Repubblica). In 1975 Bonifacio was elected to the

Italian Senate The Senate of the Republic (), or simply the Senate ( ), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament, the lower house being the Chamber of Deputies. The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform iden ...

, and served as Minister of Justice from February 1976 until March 1979. Bonifacio presided over two Senate commissions which considered and promoted

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment (or constitutional alteration) is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly alt ...

s. From 1987 he began to teach Constitutional Justice at the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

. He died in 1989 in his home in Rome, due to a tumor.L' ADDIO A BONIFACIO Il cattolico che anticipo' la legge sull' aborto
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References

1923 births 1989 deaths People from Castellammare di Stabia 20th-century Italian jurists Ministers of justice of Italy Academic staff of the University of Naples Federico II Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome Members of the Senate of the Republic (Italy) Judges of the Constitutional Court of Italy Presidents of the Constitutional Court of Italy 20th-century Italian judges 20th-century Italian politicians {{Italy-law-bio-stub