Civil Protection Department

The Operational Committee of the Civil Protection Department ensures the joint management and the coordination of the emergency activities. It meets in the Department of Civil Protection, it is presided over by the Head of the Department and is made up of representatives of members and operative structures of the Civil Protection system.

The Operational Committee was established by law no. 225 dated 1992, at article 10. The last measure which defines the establishment and the operation is Prime Minister’s Decree of November 21, 2006 which was extended three more years by Prime Minister’s Decree dated July 2, 2010.

It is made up as follows:
• representatives of the Department of Civil Protection
• chief of the Fire Department;
• a representative of the armed forces;
• a representative for each of the police forces;
• a representative for the State Forestry Commission;
• a representative of the Italian Red Cross;
• a representative of the structures of the National Health Service;
• a representative of the national voluntary organisations;
• a representative of the national mountain rescue and speleological corps;
• a representative of the Port Authorities;
• a representative of the Environmental Protection and technological services Agency;
• a representative of the national institute of geophysics and volcanology;
• a representative of the National research Council;
• a representative of Enea;
• two representatives of the regions designated by the unified State-Regions-Cities conference and local autonomies.
Apart from these representatives, regional and local authorities of civil protection interested in specific emergencies can also participate.

Its functions. It has the purpose of assessing the news, the data and the requests coming from the areas affected by the emergency, of defining the intervention strategies and coordinating the interventions of all the administrations and bodies interested in the relief operations in a joint framework.

Operation. The Committee remains in office for three years. It operates with the presence of at least half of the members plus one. In the event of urgent need or emergency, it may also operate in the presence of representatives of the Department, Fire Department, Armed forces, Police Forces, Forestry Commission, Red Cross, National volunteer organisations and the joint Conference.

The Committee is convened by the President with at least three days’ notice and by indicating the items on the agenda. In the event of urgent need or emergency, it may also be convened by fax or telephone.

The Operational Committee was established by law no. 225 of 1992, under article 10. The latest measure that defines its constitution and functioning is the Ministerial decree of 21 November 2006, that was extended for three more years by the Ministeria decree of 2 July 2010.