The composition of the Board of Auditors of the Municipality of Cagliari is legitimate. The Council of State has put an end to a legal dispute over the Palazzo Bacaredda's supervisory body, triggered by the appeal filed by Maria Laura Vacca (represented by lawyers Antonello Angioni and Giulio Steri ) against the administration and the current members of the board (Antonello Floris, Francesco Picciau, and Francesca Nocera), represented by lawyer Riccardo Caboni.
Vacca's arguments, which supported the appointment, were rejected by the Sardinian Regional Administrative Court (TAR) and have now also fallen before the second-instance administrative judge.
The case revolves around gender quotas. The city council had voted for five candidates: Aldo Cadau (11 votes), Antonello Floris (10 votes), Francesco Picciau (10 votes), Francesca Nocera (4 votes), and Camilla Conti (3 votes). The appellant Vacca, however, had received one vote. The initial draw had yielded three candidates: Francesco Picciau, Camilla Conti, and Antonello Floris. However, it was subsequently determined that Conti was ineligible and had to be replaced. A ballot was held to determine her place, and Nocera was appointed.
Vacca contested the move: she argued that the gender quota should have been met already in the initial five-person list, with two women being present in the five. Therefore, if a woman were to be removed, she should have taken over. This argument was rejected by the Council of State, which, accepting the argument of attorney Caboni and the Municipality, ruled: "The law does not require two names of the opposite gender to be included in the five-person list, since compliance with the principle of gender equality is ensured by at least one gender being present in the five-person list."
Enrico Fresu
