L’asilo costituzionale. Portata e limiti di un diritto fondamentale fra Italia, Spagna e Unione Europea.

This dissertation examines the genesis and the evolution of the right of asylum and aims to offer a description of its extent and its limits within the international, European , Italian and Spanish legal system. The investigative path starts from an historical reconstruction of the institute in order to illustrate the passage from a strictly religious concept of asylum to a political one succeeded by the emersion of the refuge institute and the affirmation of the non refoulement principle. Once concluded the historical examination of the right of asylum, the research focuses on its progressive evolution in the European legal space and particular attention is drawn to the European Convention on Human Rights and to the course of integration into the European Union. Finally, the domestic laws of Italy and Spain are appraised with special consideration of the positions expressed during the constituent debate. Such decision was recommended by the intensity of the topics, from the fervor and solemnity of the discussion, a sign that the constitutional legislators were well aware to be dealing with one of the institutions that could be decisive in the very design of their respective constitutional arrangements. Two main issues emerged from the research. The first question regards the gradual affirmation of the non refoulement principle as a fundamental human right. The second one relates to the tendency of the constitutional right of asylum to thin out within a legal institution that is similar but not exactly comparable such as the refugee status.