The new Italian civil process
Elena Tarli
by Elena Tarli
On 28 February 2023, the last and most important part of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure reform entered into force.
The reform, known as Riforma Cartabia, was carried out by legislative decree No. 149/2022, and is aimed to increase the efficiency of Italian civil litigation proceedings, reduce their duration, and eliminate the backlog of Italian civil courts in compliance with the principles of an adversarial process and the effectiveness of the right of defence.
The reform was one of the objectives agreed with the European Union in order to access the financial resources of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), and should have a material impact on the length of civil proceedings and the simplification of the justice system, since these are the issues historically most valued to market players and foreign investors.
The main innovations are related to:
1. First instance proceedings
The simplified trial procedure is enhanced and is now provided for when the facts are not disputed, and the investigation is based on documents or does not require complex actions. Adjudication of the dispute is possible in a very short time, avoiding useless and costly preliminary investigations; the decision-making phase is also reduced and, consequently, the deadlines for filing the final defence briefs.
2. Review proceedings
In appeal proceedings, the judge in charge of the file can dismiss an appeal as clearly ungrounded when it has no chance of being upheld, or can decide whether the appeal is clearly ungrounded with concise judgment. Before the Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione), this provides an accelerated procedure for the dismissal of inadmissible or manifestly ungrounded appeals.
3. Methods of alternative dispute resolution
Lawyer-assisted negotiation (including for labour disputes), mediation, and arbitration are enhanced – extending the applicability of mediation, extending the scope of assisted negotiation, strengthening the guarantees of impartiality in arbitration, and providing for tax incentives.
In line with measures introduced during the Covid-19 emergency, the reform also aims to further enhance the digitalisation of proceedings (Italy already represents a good example on the European scene in this regard) by: (i) allowing electronic filing of briefs and documents; (ii) providing for holding civil hearings by remote audio-visual connections or replacing them with the filing of written notes; (iii) repealing the hearing called for oath of the technical office consultant, and replacing it with a declaration executed by the same consultant via digital signature.
Bussoletti Nuzzo & Associati is an Italian law firm with multiple years of experience in commercial, competition, finance, and civil law, which advises on a wide variety of matters and disputes, and provides clients with tailored solutions to solve complex problems.
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Elena Tarli, a lawyer with academic experience and an MA in business law, joined Bussoletti Nuzzo & Associati in 2018. She advises in the corporate and litigation areas. Contact Elena.
