In the Republican period, non-profit private entities were subject to special and favourable laws. This legislation has been settled with the adoption of the Third Sector Code, which defines the notion of third sector body, determines the means of connection with the public administration, regulates controls. The Code finds its legitimation in the framework of open pluralism prefigured by the indifference of the Republican Constitution to the goals of private associations even though it is oriented by the principle of solidarity. The correct constitutional position of the phenomenon helps to address the issue of the limitation of private autonomy in organizational choices and in particular of the relationships between the body and its members.
Keywords: Freedom of association; Private autonomy; Pluralism; Horizontal solidarity; Solidarity; Third Sector Code.