Latest updates
Control over distribution networks: recent IVASS and ANIA clarifications
DLA Piper- Insurance
- Italy
- 18 February 2020
Section 46 of Institute for the Supervision of Insurance (IVASS) Regulation 40/2018 concerns (re)insurance distribution and provides that undertakings must, among other things, draft an annual report on the control over their distribution networks, which must be submitted to the board and the compliance division and delivered to IVASS. The deadline to submit the 2019 report and data relating to distribution networks is 29 February 2020.
Mobile phones may cause brain tumours: Turin Court of Appeals revives debate
- Product Regulation & Liability
- Italy
- 13 February 2020
After a two-year dispute, the Turin Court of Appeals has dismissed the appeal filed by the National Insurance Provider (INAIL) and upheld the first-instance decision issued by the Court of Ivrea in 2017, which established causation between extensive work-related use of mobile phones and brain tumours and ordered INAIL to compensate the claimant with a lifelong payment.
Hemp food – Ministry of Health sets acceptable levels of THC
Hogan Lovells- Product Regulation & Liability
- Italy
- 06 February 2020
The Ministry of Health recently published the THC Decree, which sets the maximum tetrahydrocannabinol content permitted in food products, together with guidance on the appropriate method of analysis. Some commentators have welcomed the new regulation as a liberalisation of the use of hemp in food products; however, on closer inspection, this conclusion proves to be unjustified.
Budget Law 2020 – a corporate tax overview
Studio Legale e Tributario Biscozzi Nobili Piazza- Corporate Tax
- Italy
- 31 January 2020
In December 2019 Parliament passed the Budget Law for 2020 and a related tax law decree. Most of the new provisions apply from 1 January 2020 or will become applicable in 2020. For example, as of 2020, the tax on financial instruments held abroad and on foreign real estate also apply to non-commercial entities (including trusts and foundations) and certain Italian tax-resident partnerships. This article summarises the main changes applicable to corporate entities.
Sea Watch 3: can coastal states limit right of innocent passage?
Dardani Studio Legale- Shipping & Transport
- Italy
- 29 January 2020
Can a coastal state prevent a ship from exercising the right of innocent passage into its territorial waters to access one of its ports in a maritime distress scenario deriving from rescuing migrants at sea? This question has been the focus of attention due to legislation that the government passed in 2019 in order to restrict such rights and the case of Sea Watch 3, which entered the Italian port of Lampedusa despite a government veto.
When can employers use private investigators?
Stanchi Studio Legale- Employment & Benefits
- Italy
- 29 January 2020
According to case law, the Italian regulatory system allows employers to appoint private investigators to verify unlawful conduct on the part of their employees. A recent Court of Padua decision offers a useful overview of the circumstances in which this type of action is permitted.
Supreme Court of Cassation rules on chair and deputy chair duties and directors' revocation
Grieco e Associati- Company & Commercial
- Italy
- 20 January 2020
The Supreme Court of Cassation has set out important principles regarding the duties of chairs and deputy chairs of company boards of directors. In particularly, chairs' duties are of an organisational nature and must be fulfilled in a neutral way with the aim of coordinating the board as an impartial body. The court also ruled on directors' right to be indemnified in the event of their revocation without cause before the expiration of their appointment.
ENAC approves new drone regulation
Studio Pierallini- Aviation
- Italy
- 15 January 2020
The Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) recently approved a new drone regulation which will ease the transition to the EU Basic Regulation. Although EU legislation has already outlined a clear picture of the rules that will be definitively operational in the next few years, ENAC's regulation aims to safeguard the prerogatives and rights acquired by operators in the period before the EU drone legislation enters into force.
IATA: competitive conditions for an efficient market
Studio Pierallini- Aviation
- Italy
- 08 January 2020
The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) recently published a report on the Italian air transport market, focusing on the developments that would occur if more efficient conditions were introduced. According to IATA, civil aviation is competitive in terms of air transport support, but airport and passenger ticket taxes make Italy the seventh most expensive country at the continental level. This is having an adverse effect on Italy's attractiveness as a location for both business and tourism.
Insurance Distribution Directive – new IVASS measures expected
DLA Piper- Insurance
- Italy
- 24 December 2019
The Institute for the Supervision of Insurance (IVASS) recently launched a public consultation on two separate documents containing additional rules implementing the local and EU laws on insurance distribution (and other ancillary provisions). The first consultation document relates to product oversight and governance, while the second introduces changes to existing IVASS regulations.
Wizz Air's fine for hand baggage restrictions annulled
Studio Pierallini- Aviation
- Italy
- 18 December 2019
The Administrative Court of Lazio (TAR) recently upheld Wizz Air's challenge and cancelled fines that had been imposed by the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) on the airline for its hand baggage policy. The policy provided that only a small piece of hand luggage to be stored under the seat was allowed on board flights free of charge, while a fee had to be paid for larger pieces of hand luggage.
New relationship between collective, certification and individual multi-use marks
IP Law Galli- Intellectual Property
- Italy
- 09 December 2019
Following the implementation of the EU Trademark Directive in February 2019, there has been much debate in Italy over how to manage and choose between collective marks, individual multi-use marks and certification marks. While the new IP regime offers new opportunities, it also requires a careful review of existing regulations and a case-by-case verification of whether a collective mark can be maintained or whether it must be transformed into a certification mark.
Supreme Court of Cassation rules on shareholders' right of withdrawal
Grieco e Associati- Company & Commercial
- Italy
- 02 December 2019
A recent Court of Cassation decision concerned the amendment of a company's articles of association to considerably increase the percentage of legal reserve and extraordinary statutory reserve before dividends were distributed in favour of shareholders. The question before the court was whether the amendment was grounds for a shareholders' withdrawal on the basis that it was an amendment of articles of association with regard to shareholders' voting rights or their participation.
Taxation of income transferred to Italian beneficiaries from non-EU resident trusts
Studio Legale e Tributario Biscozzi Nobili Piazza- Private Client & Offshore Services
- Italy
- 28 November 2019
Since the introduction of provisions to the Income Tax Code aimed at regulating the taxation of trusts and related beneficiaries, the tax treatment applicable to income distribution from foreign opaque trusts has not been clarified by law. A new decree law has filled this legal void by providing for a new class of 'financial income', represented by income paid to Italian resident beneficiaries by non-EU trusts established in low-tax jurisdictions.
Employee dismissed for giving confidential company documents to former colleague
- Litigation
- Italy
- 26 November 2019
The directors of a credit company placed under extraordinary administration for serious irregularities learned that an employee had covertly given the company's former general manager some confidential company documents, which he had had no reason to access. The employee was subject to internal disciplinary proceedings and dismissed for a serious breach of the obligation of loyalty to her employer, but challenged her dismissal in court.
How is technology changing employer-employee relationships?
Stanchi Studio Legale- Employment & Benefits
- Italy
- 13 November 2019
A recent Padua Labour Court decision affirmed that the traditional concept of subordinated relationships between employers and employees should be redesigned to reflect how changes in technology are reshaping company organisation. This decision is one of the first in which an Italian labour court has considered whether the traditional concept of employment relationships is still valid or if employees' and employers' rights should be considered differently in light of technology's impact on organisations.
Decision on shipbrokers' informative obligations
Dardani Studio Legale- Shipping & Transport
- Italy
- 06 November 2019
A significant recent judgment by the Genoa Court of Appeal examined the extent and nature of the informative duties imposed on shipbrokers under Italian law. The decision applies to shipbrokers the principles outlined by the Italian courts for general brokerage activities (in particular, real estate brokerage for which the case law is richer and more consistent). Consequently, a general and uniform legal framework has been extended to shipbrokers.
Differential damages and insurers – everything must change so that everything can stay the same
DLA Piper- Insurance
- Italy
- 29 October 2019
Employees injured at work are compensated by the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), but can also bring an action before the civil courts against their employers or other liable third parties for damages not covered by INAIL. However, the criteria that the courts should follow to quantify so-called 'differential damages' remain unclear, which is relevant for third-party liability insurers exposed to indemnification claims arising from INAIL's recourse actions.
Artistic value and copyright protection for industrial designs
IP Law Galli- Intellectual Property
- Italy
- 28 October 2019
Industrial property lawyers in Italy have been given cause for reflection following a recent European Court of Justice decision which was expected to clarify whether the legislatures of EU member states can grant copyright protection for designs subject to additional requirements to those required for all other copyrighted works. This issue is of particular importance in Italy, as copyright protection is granted to designs on the condition that they have 'artistic value', as assessed by the courts, as well as a creative aspect.
Why GSE should reduce instead of revoke incentives for PV plants
Norton Rose Fulbright Studio Legale- Energy & Natural Resources
- Italy
- 21 October 2019
According to a recent Lazio Regional Administrative Court ruling, before reaching a decision on the revocation of incentives, the Energy Services Operator must confirm whether the renewables exception set out in Article 42(3) of Legislative Decree 28/2011 applies (ie, the plant in question must have received incentives when the violation was verified) and assess the size of the reduction with regard to the extent of the violation detected.
