Romano, Santi, 1875-1947

Santi Romano (31 January 1875 – 3 November 1947) was an Italian public lawyer who taught administrative law, constitutional law, ecclesiastical law and international law in several Italian universities. He was President of the Council of State from 1928 to 1944 and Senator of the Kingdom from 1934, and as member of the Lincean Academy. Romano was an exponent of the theory of legal pluralism, and his best-known contribution to jurisprudence is his book The Legal Order (1918). Together with his "maestro" Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, Romano is widely regarded as the leading exponent of the Italian school of public law of his time. The nature of Romano's relationship with Fascism is debated among scholars. Romano joined the National Fascist Party in 1928 and his involvement with the party and government has been interpreted as active participation in Fascism and, conversely, an effort to moderate Fascism's extremism. Though he maintained an uncommitted public profile during the Mussolini government, Romano was a member of the scientific committee on the antisemitic law journal Il diritto razzista.