Luigi de Margherita

Francesco Maria Luigi de Margherita (Demargherita) (Turin, October 9, 1783 – Turin, May 20, 1856) was an Italian lawyer, politician and jurist who worked to reform the institutions of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

De Margherita graduated in law in 1802 from the University of Turin, he immediately devoted himself to teaching. Regent of the chair of Canonical Institutions in 1817, in 1819 he became its holder, along with that of Civil Institutions; from 1822 he was also professor of Civil Law. After only three months he was called to hold the Ministry of Grace, Justice and Cults in the Government de Launay and had to give up the mayor's chair to Carlo Pinchia. In the meantime he had also become councilor of the Magistrate of Cassation (later the Court of Cassation) in Turin in 1848 and class president of the Court of Cassation in 1849. But his most important legacy as guardasigilli is the bill he commissioned Siccardi with the aim of fostering the autonomy of the judiciary from the executive power. This bill was initially rejected, but came into effect on May 19, 1851, when De Margherita had not been a minister for some time.

As minister of justice, he attempted to initiate reforms that would bring the organization of the Kingdom of Sardinia in line with the principles of the Statuto albertino (e.g., the abolition of primogeniture rights), but he had to withdraw them due to opposition from the more conservative wing of the Subalpine Parliament. He entrusted his advisor Giuseppe Siccardi with the task of settling a dispute with the Pope over the dioceses of Turin and Asti, but this mission also ended in failure.

His political career came to an abrupt halt following a scandal. He had granted the legitimization of a natural daughter of the late Marquis Giovanni Battista Serra, who then became engaged to his son. Suspicion that he had acted out of self-interest, since legitimation involved a substantial inheritance, forced him to resign on December 18, 1849. He did not retire from public life, however, remaining an adviser to the royal family and speaker of numerous bills, including those for reforming the ecclesiastical forum and establishing civil marriage.

He died on 20 May 1856