Abstract
After a brief historical overview of the administration of civil justice in Italy and a short description of the structure of the judiciary, the author expands on the three main types of civil proceedings provided for by the Italian Code of Civil Procedure, highlighting a series of recent reforms adopted in the attempt to solve the most serious problem of Italian justice, that is, the excessive length of adjudication. The final part of the chapter addresses the issue of mediation and ADR envisaged by the Italian legislator as possible strategies to reduce the courts’ caseload.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
See Picardi 2006.
- 2.
Calamandrei 1976.
- 3.
- 4.
On Klein’s thought, see extensively Van Rhee 2005, pp. 3–21, 11–14.
- 5.
- 6.
See Art. 24 of the Italian Constitution. An official translation in English of the Italian Constitution can be read on the webpage of the Italian Senate, available at: http://www.senato.it/documenti/repository/istituzione/costituzione_inglese.pdf (last consulted in June 2013).
- 7.
See Arts. 101–113 of the Italian Constitution.
- 8.
Art. 111 of the Italian Constitution was modified in 1999.
- 9.
The author did not have access to more recent data. The data reported in the text, though, are at least official, since they were made public by the Ministry of Justice in the annual report to the Parliament on the state of judicial affairs: see ‘Relazione sull’amministrazione della giustizia nell’anno 2011’, available at: http://www.giustizia.it/giustizia/it/mg_2_7_3_2.wp?previsiousPage=mg_9 (last consulted in June 2013).
- 10.
The statute in question is statute No. 150 of 2011. Some basic information on its contents can be read in Consolo 2011.
- 11.
Art. 102(1) of the Italian Constitution.
- 12.
Art. 102(2) of the Italian Constitution.
- 13.
Ibidem.
- 14.
See Art. 7 of the Code.
- 15.
See Art. 9 of the Code.
- 16.
Art. 106(1) of the Italian Constitution.
- 17.
Art. 102(3) of the Italian Constitution.
- 18.
Statute No. 27 of 24 March 2012, at Art. 2.
- 19.
Statute No. 148 of 14 September 2012, at Art. 1(2).
- 20.
When the first draft of this report was being written (May-June 2012), some lawyers associations were in the middle of a ‘work-to-rule’ protest.
- 21.
See Dalfino 2010, p. 76.
- 22.
See below, Sect. 4.
- 23.
See Giorgiantonio et al. 2009, available at: http://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/quarigi/qrg66/qrg_66/volume_66.pdf (last consulted in June 2013).
- 24.
See above, Sect. 2.
- 25.
Trib. Varese, 15 April 2010, Il Foro italiano, 2011, I, p. 1262, commentary by U. Giacomelli, pp. 1262–1270.
- 26.
On the latest version of the rule, see Ghirga 2012.
- 27.
- 28.
See Gerardo and Mutarelli 2011, available at: http://www.judicium.it (last consulted in June 2013).
- 29.
See Arts. 420–421 of the Code; Tarzia 2008.
- 30.
Bianco and Napolitano 2011, available at: http://www.bancaditalia.it/studiricerche/convegni/atti/storico-internazionale/interventi/qse-24.pdf (last consulted in June 2013).
- 31.
Ibidem, p. 28.
- 32.
European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) 2010.
- 33.
The data offered in the text come from the report on the state of the administration of justice presented by the Chief Justice of the Italian Supreme Court at the beginning of each year: see, Lupo 2012, available at: http://www.cortedicassazione.it, pp. 49–68 (last consulted in June 2013).
- 34.
See Antonucci et al. 2011, available at: http://www.dip-statistica.uniba.it/html/annali/2011/annali_2011/15-ACDTv5.pdf (last consulted in June 2013).
- 35.
For a comprehensive overview of the rules affecting the legal profession that are part of the statute popularly known as the ‘Grow-Italy’ statute, see Colaviti et al. 2012, available at: http://www.consiglionazionaleforense.it/site/home/pubblicazioni/studi-e-ricerche/articolo7359.html (last consulted in June 2013).
- 36.
See Buonanno and Galizzi 2012, available at: http://www.carloalberto.org/research/working-papers/no.250.pdf (last consulted in June 2013); Silvestri 2011.
- 37.
It must be emphasized that, as of September 2012, the appellate procedure has been reformed according to the guidelines of the bill mentioned in the text above. The situation is paradoxical: appeals (in the proper sense, that is, the ones brought against judgments issued by courts of first instance) are no longer ‘as of right’, since they can be rejected in limine if the appellate court deems that they are devoid of reasonable prospects of success, while final appeals (that is, the ones brought to the Italian Supreme Court) are virtually ‘as of right’, because of a constitutional rule reading ‘Appeals to the Court of Cassation in cases of violations of the law are always allowed against judgments and against measures affecting personal freedom pronounced by ordinary and special courts’ (Art. 111(7) of the Italian Constitution). Needless to say, the goal of relieving the appellate courts of their heavy caseloads has been pursued at the expense of an already overburdened Supreme Court, according to a logic that defies common sense. On the reform of appellate procedure, see Caponi 2012a, available at: http://www.judicium.it (last consulted in September 2013); Caponi 2012b, available at: http://www.judicium.it (last consulted in September 2013).
- 38.
- 39.
Statistics are available at: http://www.governo.it/backoffice/allegati/68027-7686.pdf (last consulted in June 2013).
- 40.
See Silvestri 2008.
- 41.
See extensively Cosmelli 2012, available at http://www.giurcost.org/studi/Cosmelli.pdf (last consulted in November 2013).
- 42.
Joined Cases C-317/08, C-317/08, C-319/08 and C-320/08, Rosalba Alassini v. Telecom Italia SpA, Filomena Califano v. Wind SpA, Lucia Anna Giorgia Iacono v. Telecom Italia SpA and Multiservice Srl v. Telecom Italia SpA [2010]. For a commentary on the judgment, see Davies and Szyszczak 2010.
- 43.
See European Parliament resolution of 13 September 2011 on the implementation of the directive on mediation in the Member States, its impact on mediation and its take-up by the courts, available at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2011-0361+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN, at para. 10 (last consulted in June 2013).
- 44.
Rubino-Sammartano 2011, p. 491.
References
Antonucci L, Crocetta C, d’Ovidio FD, Toma E (2011) Valutazione dell’efficienza amministrativa del sistema giudiziario tramite Data Envelopment Analysis. Available at: http://www.dip-statistica.uniba.it/html/annali/2011/annali_2011/15-ACDTv5.pdf
Basilico G (2010) Il procedimento sommario di cognizione. Il giusto processo civile, pp 737–770
Bianco M, Napolitano G (2011) The Italian Administrative System since 1861 (October 2011). Available at: http://www.bancaditalia.it/studiricerche/convegni/atti/storico-internazionale/interventi/qse-24.pdf
Bina M (2010) Il procedimento sommario di cognizione. Rivista di diritto processuale, pp 117–133
Buonanno P, Galizzi MM (2012) Advocatus, et non Latro? Testing the Supplier-Induced Demand Hypothesis for the Italian Courts of Justice (12 April 2012). Available at: http://www.carloalberto.org/research/working-papers/no.250.pdf
Calamandrei P (1976) La Cassazione civile. In: Cappelletti M (ed) Calamandrei, P., Opere giuridiche, VI. Morano Editore, Napoli, pp 629–691
Caponi R (2012a) Contro il nuovo filtro in appello e per un filtro in cassazione nel processo civile. Available at: http://www.judicium.it
Caponi R (2012b) La riforma dell’appello civile dopo la svolta nelle commissioni parlamentari. Available at: http://www.judicium.it
Cipriani F (1997) Gli avvocati italiani e l’ “esperienza fallita” (il codice processuale civile 1942). In: Cipriani F (ed) Ideologie e modelli del processo civile. ESI-Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, Napoli, pp 103–120
Cipriani F (2003a) Il processo civile tra vecchie ideologie e nuovi slogan. Rivista di diritto processuale, pp 455–466
Cipriani F (2003b) I problemi del processo di cognizione tra passato e presente. Rivista di diritto civile I:39–70
Colaviti G, Cremonini R, Izzo S, Schillaci A (2012) Le professioni regolamentate nel decreto “Cresci-Italia”. Le osservazioni dell’Ufficio Studi del Consiglio Nazionale Forense (22 marzo 2012). Available at: http://www.consiglionazionaleforense.it/site/home/pubblicazioni/studi-e-ricerche/articolo7359.html
Colombo GF (2012) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Italy: European inspiration and national problems. Ritsumeikan Law Rev 29:71–80
Consolo C (2011) Prime osservazioni introduttive sul d. lgs. n. 150/2011 di riordino (e relativa “semplificazione”) dei riti settoriali. Il Corriere giuridico, pp 1485–1491
Cosmelli G (2012) Effetti immediati di una sentenza pubblicizzata ma non pubblicata, ovvero l’incostituzionalità della c.d. mediazione civile obbligatoria (Nota minima … al comunicato stampa della Corte costituzionale del 24 ottobre 2012). Available at: http://www.giurcost.org/studi/Cosmelli.pdf
Dalfino D (2010) Characteristics of procedure – ordinary proceedings of first instance. In: De Cristofaro M, Trocker N (eds) Civil justice in Italy. Jigakusha Publishing Corp, Tokyo, pp 66–90
Davies J, Szyszczak E (2010) ADR: effective protection of consumer rights? Eur Law Rev 345:695–706
De Palo G, Keller LR (2012) The Italian mediation explosion: lessons in Realpolitik. Negotiation J 28:181–199
European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) (2010) European judicial systems edition 2010 (data 2008): efficiency and quality of justice. Council of Europe Publishing, Strasbourg
Gerardo M, Mutarelli A (2011) Procedimento sommario di cognizione ex art. 702 bis c.p.c.: primo bilancio operativo. Available at: http://www.judicium.it
Ghirga MF (2012) Le novità sul calendario del processo: le sanzioni poreviste per il suo mancato rispetto. Rivista di diritto processuale, pp 166–187
Giorgiantonio C (2009) Civil procedure reform in Italy: concentration principle, adversarial system or case management. Legal Research Papers of the Bank of Italy, No 66 (September 2009). Available at: http://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/quarigi/qrg66/qrg_66/volume_66.pdf
Lupo E (2012) Relazione sull’amministrazione della giustizia nell’anno 2011 (Roma, 26 gennaio 2012). Available at: http://www.cortedicassazione.it, pp 49–68
Pacilli M (2011) Brevi note sul nuovo procedimento sommario di cognizione. Rivista trimestrale di diritto e procedura civile, pp 929–939
Picardi N (2006) Le Code de Procédure civile français de 1806 et le monopole étatique de la juridiction. In: Cadiet L, Canivet G (eds) De la commémoration d’un code à l’autre: 200 ans de procédure civile en France. Litec, Paris, pp 187–196
Rubino-Sammartano M (2011) The three mediations (Light and shadow of the Italian example). J Int Arbitr 28:485–491
Silvestri E (2008) ADR Italian style: Panacea or Anathema? In: Uzelac A, Van Rhee CH (eds) Civil justice between efficiency and quality: from Ius commune to the CEPEJ. Intersentia, Antwerp/Oxford/Portland, pp 249–254
Silvestri E (2011) The legal profession in Italy: regulation v. competition? In: Uzelac A, Van Rhee CH (eds) The landscape of the legal professions in Europe and the USA: continuity and change. Intersentia, Cambridge/Antwerp/Portland, pp 145–159
Taruffo M (1980) La giustizia civile in Italia dal ‘700 a oggi. Il Mulino, Bologna
Tarzia G (2008) Manuale del processo del lavoro, 5th edn. Giuffrè, Milano
Van Rhee CH (2005) Introduction. In: Van Rhee CH (ed) European traditions in civil procedure. Intersentia, Antwerp/Oxford, pp 3–23
Verde G (2002) Le ideologie del processo in un recente saggio. Rivista di diritto processuale, pp 676–687
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Appendix: Facts and Figures Relevant for the Powers of the Judge and the Parties in Civil Litigation
Appendix: Facts and Figures Relevant for the Powers of the Judge and the Parties in Civil Litigation
Italy
Year of Reference: 2011
Part I: General Data on the National Civil Justice System
-
1.
Inhabitants, GDP and average gross annual salary
Number of inhabitants
60,813,326
Per capita GDP (gross domestic product) in euro or RMB
€22,964.557
Average gross annual salary in euro or RMB
€21,933.00
-
2.
Total annual budget allocated to all courts €7,273,340,000
-
3.
Does the budget of the courts include the following items?
Yes
Amount (euro or RMB)
Annual public budget allocated to salaries
□
N/A
Annual public budget allocated to computerisation
□
N/A
Annual public budget allocated to court buildings
X
€128,354,000
Annual public budget allocated to training and education
□
N/A
Annual public budget allocated to legal aid
□
N/A
Other: Juvenile Justice
X
€126,586,000
Management of detention centers
□
N/A
-
4.
Is the budget allocated to the public prosecution included in the court budget?
-
□ Yes
-
☒ No
-
(a)
If yes, give the amount of the annual public budget allocated to the prosecution services
-
Legal Aid (Access to Justice)
-
5.
Annual number of legal aid cases and annual public budget allocated to legal aid
Number
Amount
Civil cases
N/A
N/A
Other than civil cases
N/A
N/A
Total of legal aid cases
N/A
N/A
-
Organisation of the court system and the public prosecution
-
6.
Judges, non-judge staff and Rechtspfleger
Total number
Sitting in civil cases
Professional judges (full time equivalent and permanent posts)
8,697
N/A
Professional judges sitting in courts on an occasional basis and paid as such
N/A
N/A
Non-professional judges (including lay-judges) who are not remunerated but who can possibly receive a defrayal of costs
7,380
N/A
Non-judge staff working in the courts (full time equivalent and permanent posts)
N/A
N/A
Rechtspfleger
N/A
N/A
-
The performance and workload of the courts
-
7.
Total number of civil cases in the courts (litigious and non-litigious): 5,429,148 (30-06-2011)
-
8.
Litigious civil cases and administrative law cases in the courts
Litigious civil cases in general
Civil cases by category (e.g. small claims, family, etc.)
Total number of first-instance cases
Pending cases by 1 January of the year of reference
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Pending cases by 31 December of the year of reference
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Incoming cases
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Decisions on the merits
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Average length of first-instance proceedings
470
N/A
N/A
N/A
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Silvestri, E. (2014). Italy: Civil Procedure in Crisis. In: van Rhee, C., Yulin, F. (eds) Civil Litigation in China and Europe. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 31. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7666-1_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7666-1_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-7665-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-7666-1
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawLaw and Criminology (R0)