Resumen de Né Antigone né Porzia, le argomentazioni del dialogo del diritto
A great President of the Italian Constitutional Court, Cesare Ruperto, when talking about the work of judges, affirmed that “Judges must always trust, but resist; doubt, but choose; distrust, but believe; know when to keep silent, and when to speak”.
Beyond the apparent romanticism, such a perspective constitutes an image of the role of the judge and its thousand-year history, which is rooted in the fabric of our civilization and our culture. This process has necessarily looked for and found methods of dispute settlement and recognition of rights, through jurisprudence, by following courses which have not always been characterized by imperium.
This essay will discuss these various courses and therefore the eternal dialogue (and conflict) between law and justice, as exemplified by the archetype in the charming diptych of the two great figures of Antigone and Portia. The use of such an ancient theatrical metaphor will come as no surprise, because, as we shall see, it is precisely in Antigone and in The Merchant of Venice, where the features of the activity of interpretation (sometimes art, sometimes artifice), are highlighted as the basis of the process of dialogue in law.
