Italy's president Sergio Mattarella on Thursday called on the populist government to respect the country's post-war constitution as well as its obligations under European and international law, his office stated.
Matterella made the appeal in a letter to populist premier Giuseppe Conte after he signed government's controversial security and immigration decree, the statement said.
"Constitutional and international State obligations" remain," Mattarella wrote the letter to Conte, according to the statement.
The controversial decree toughens the rules for refugees and asylum-seekers and must now be passed into law by Italy's parliament.
The decree been heavily criticised on human rights grounds.