Professor Sergio Bartole was born in Genoa on 30 June 1936 from a family originating from Friuli Venezia-Giulia, specifically Trieste, where the whole family moved back at the beginning of World War II. He completed his studies there from primary school to Law Faculty, and graduated from Trieste University in February 1960. At the same University he carried out post-graduated studies until he became professor in 1972; he originally taught Regional Law, and subsequently constitutional Law.
He moved to the University of Pavia as a Professor of Regional and Constitutional law from 1977 to 1982. He subsequently returned to the Law Faculty of Trieste, where he resumed his teaching of Constitutional Law and, then, of advanced comparative constitutional law and constitutional justice.
Previously the Scientific Director of the Institute of Regional Legal Studies of Friuli Venezia Giulia, he chaired the Scientific Board of the Institute for Regions of CNR.
A member of the scientific boards of the main Italian Journals of Constitutional Law, he is the author of a rich bibliography (over 150 publications) in the area of the judiciary, regional autonomy, rights and freedoms, constitutional justice, European integration, constitutional reforms in Central and East European countries. He edited, together with B Conforti and G Raimondi, an article-by-article commentary on the European Convention on Human Rights;
He carried out study visits and held conferences and seminars at Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, Vienna, Ljubljana, Graz, Salzburg, Regensburg, Geneva and Lund Universities.
He took part on behalf of the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs in the preparation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and from 1998 to 2002 was a member of the relevant Advisory Committee; in this capacity, he took part in several missions.
For the last ten years he has been substitute member of the Venice Commission in respect of Italy; in this capacity, he has taken part in several missions and prepared several opinions.
A consultant of several constitutional and regional bodies, he is currently a member of the Commissione Paritetica per i rapporti tra Stato e Regione of Friuli Venezia Giulia.