MAYOR. — In Italian public law, the m. stands at the head of the local administration, both autonomous and governmental, since he possesses the dual capacity of head of the municipal administration and government official, thus providing a clear example of the institutional union of the offices of two distinct juridical persons: the Municipality and the State. This dual capacity of his has always assumed particular importance not only in relation to his complex functions, but also with regard to the procedures for his appointment and possible removal.
The municipal administration is governed by various honorary elected bodies, two of them collegiate—the Council and the Giunta—and one individual, the m.: he is elected by the Council from among its members for a term of four years (at its first meeting, by secret ballot and through an elaborate procedure requiring special qualified majorities: T. U. 5 Apr. 1951, no. 203). In addition to presiding over the Council and the Giunta (the latter a more restricted body than the former, from which it derives through internal election), the m. performs essentially executive and representative functions, whereas the deliberative power belongs to the Council. Accordingly, the m. supervises all municipal offices, oversees the discipline of their employees, ensures compliance with municipal regulations, concludes with third parties the contracts approved by the Council, signs documents relating to municipal revenues and expenditures, represents the Municipality in court, etc., and is accountable for his actions to the Council itself (T. U. com. e prov. 4 Feb. 1915, no. 148).
As a government official (art. 152 T. U. c. e p. 1915 and art. 54 T. U. c. e p. 1934), the m. occupies a position of hierarchical dependence upon the state organs of the branch of administration in which his activity is carried out (generally, the administration of the Interior). Thus, he supervises the maintenance of public order, informing the higher authorities thereof, and exercises the functions proper to the public-security authority in Municipalities where such authority is absent; he may also issue emergency measures concerning building and local policing; he is responsible for maintaining the civil-status registers, transcribes marriage records and may himself solemnize marriages; he supervises the registry services, those relating to military conscription, and the compilation of electoral rolls; he may adopt various measures concerning public hygiene; etc.
In the event of absence or impediment, his functions are performed by the assessor whom he has delegated (or, in the absence of a delegation, by the oldest assessor or councillor); while, especially in the larger Municipalities, he delegates the individual branches of the municipal administration to the various assessors. Detailed legislative provisions regulate the cases in which it is necessary to suspend the m. from his functions or even remove him from office (by a reasoned resolution of the Council adopted by a two-thirds majority, or by a measure of the prefect, or by decree of the head of State prompted by serious reasons of public order, or by forfeiture following conviction for an offence entailing ineligibility or, at least, a custodial sentence of more than one year). The m. may also leave office before the expiry of the four-year term owing to the dissolution of the entire municipal administration, through his voluntary resignation, or following the occurrence of a condition of ineligibility established by law. Finally, having regard to the Municipality’s financial capacity and the onerousness of the duties incumbent upon him, he may be granted a special office allowance by resolution of the Council approved by the Provincial Administrative Giunta.
The election of the m. in Italy dates back to the reform of local administration carried out in 1888 (previously, he was appointed by royal decree from among the municipal councillors); it logically came to an end during the Fascist period, when laws 4 Feb. 1926, no. 237, and 3 Sept. 1926, no. 1910, replaced the m. with the podestà, appointed by royal decree on the proposal of the Minister of the Interior; but it was reintroduced after liberation by legislative decree of the Lieutenant General of the Realm 7 Jan. 1946, no. 1 (subsequently amended by those of 10 March 1946, no. 76, and 15 March 1946, no. 83).
For certain moral questions concerning the conduct of the m. called upon to attend a civil marriage, V. INDIESOLUBILITÀ.