LEGISLAZIONE SOCIALE. - La l. s., in senso convenzionale e ristretto (poiché in senso lato ogni legislazione, di natura sua, può dirsi sociale), è comunemente intesa come il complesso delle fonti normative dello Stato rivolte alla protezione delle categorie lavoratrici (ed in specie delle più deboli, come fanciulli, donne, disoccupati ecc.) in ordine, ad es.,
An eminent, albeit indirect, contribution to social legislation was made by the teaching of the pontiffs. Already in the encyclical Rerum novarum (1891) Leo XIII affirmed that « the class of the rich, strong in itself, has less need of public defense: the wretched masses instead, who lack their own support, have the utmost need to find it in the patronage of the State. And therefore to the workers, who are among the weak and needy, the State must direct its care and provision by preference » (no. 20). Previously, here and there, the issuance of certain regulations had taken place, more or less timid or fragmentary (among them notable are those promoted by Bismarck and inspired by what he called "practical Christianity": cf. the parliamentary speeches of Apr. 2, 1881, Jan. 9, 1882, Mar. 15, 1884); but « it is certain — affirms Pius XI in the Quadragesimo anno (no. 12) — that finally then, when the pontifical word resounded from the Chair of Peter throughout the world, the rulers of peoples, made more conscious of their duty, turned their thoughts and attention to promoting a richer social policy »; and from a « continuous, untiring labor arose a new branch of legal discipline entirely ignored in past times, which strongly defends the sacred rights of workers derived from their dignity as men and Christians ». Even if the provisions in force « do not agree everywhere and in everything with the norms of Leo XIII, it cannot nevertheless be denied that in many points one feels an echo of the encyclical Rerum novarum, to which therefore a very notable part of the improved condition of the workers is to be attributed » (Quadragesimo anno, no. 12, in AAS, 23 [1931], pp. 185-86).
The regulations on the subject have an imperative nature, that is, they are unalterable by the will of private individuals and, at least as a rule, unalterable even by the will of professional associations in collective agreements, except in a sense more favorable to the workers. In case of violation, criminal and administrative sanctions are provided, in addition to civil or patrimonial ones. In the doctrinal construction of the legal system, some authors include social legislation within administrative law, others within labor law.
Supervisory bodies for enforcement are, in Italy, the labor inspectorates, some central, others provincial or interprovincial; the officials in charge of them can visit workshops, factories, construction sites; issue formal notices; levy fines for contraventions, etc. The labor offices (provincial and regional bodies of the ministry of the same name, like the inspectorates) provide, among other things, for the placement of workers, the assistance of emigrants, and the conciliation of labor disputes.
The most recent charter constitutions of many States have elevated the regulations on this matter to a constitutional level, and thus also the Italian Constitution (1947), which enunciates certain general principles (arts. 35-38) and provides for a technical body for legislative drafting, the National Council of Economics and Labor, composed of experts and representatives of productive categories (art. 99).
The norms of social legislation are furthermore continually expanding in the international field, not only through specific agreements and treaties between particular States, but also through conventions drawn up by the International Labour Organization, open to the subsequent accession of all interested States,
and through the possible activity of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations Organization.