L’interesse pubblico tra politica e amministrazione: il caso dell’obbligo vaccinale durante la pandemia

This paper analyses two rulings, one – sentenza no. 7045/2021 – pronounced by the Consiglio di Stato (the highest Administrative Court in Italy) and one – ordinanza no. 38/2022 – pronounced by the Consiglio di Giustizia Amministrativa per la Regione Siciliana (the Administrative Justice Court for the Sicilian Region), comparing the argumentative technique used by the two courts in the context of the rapidly evolving regulatory framework of the vaccination mandate. The starting point of the investigation is the reconstruction of the vaccination mandate as an expression of the principle of solidarity, intimately connected to a vision of the rule of law as an essential legal ideal to guarantee human dignity. Subsequently, the focus shifts to the centrality of the role of administrative judges in the protection of public interests and the need to move from a lucid and impartial identification of the legally relevant characteristics of a factual situation in order to properly exercise the judicial function. These considerations are key in analysing the two rulings: the sentenza no. 7045/2021 of the Consiglio di Stato, in fact, aligns with the precedents of the Corte Costituzionale (Constitutional Court) and follows a reasoning strongly based on the scientific reality of the pandemic, recognising the need for flexibility in public action when prioritizing the protection of public health; conversely, the ordinanza no. 38/2022 of the Consiglio di Giustizia Amministrativa per la Regione Siciliana appears to evaluate the facts in a partisan way, even going as far as extending its reach beyond its judicial authority on a matter that should instead be under the jurisdiction of the Corte Costituzionale.