Marta Cartabia


Marta Cartabia is an Italian judge. She has been Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy since 13 September 2011, Vice President from 12 November 2014 to 11 December 2019 and President since 11 December 2019. She is a professor of constitutional law. She is the first woman to hold the office of President of the Constitutional Court.

Career

Cartabia was born in San Giorgio su Legnano, near Milan, in 1963. In 1987, she graduated with honours at the University of Milan, with the thesis "Does a European constitutional right exist?" with professor Valerio Onida as her supervisor. She obtained a Ph.D. in law from the European University Institute in Florence in 1993.
Cartabia worked at the Constitutional Court of Italy as a clerk between 1993 and 1996. In 2005, she was employed by the University of Milano-Bicocca as professor of the Jean Monnet Course of European Constitutional Law. Between 2006 and 2010 she worked as an independent expert for the "Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union". For the academic year 2009–2010 Cartabia was a Straus Fellow at "The Straus Institute for the Advanced Study of Law & Justice" in New York City.
Cartabia was appointed as Judge on the Constitutional Court by the President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, on 2 September 2011, and sworn into office on 13 September 2011. At the time of her appointment she was one of the youngest appointees ever, and only the third woman in history. She was appointed Vice President of the Court on 12 November 2014. On 11 December 2019 Cartabia succeeded Giorgio Lattanzi as President of the Constitional Court, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Cartabia received all 14 votes.
Cartabia was made Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic on 24 October 2011.
In December 2017, she was appointed as a substitute member for Italy to the European Commission for Democracy through Law of the Council of Europe, also known as Venice Commission.

Writings