Lawyer Monthly Magazine -December 2019 Edition

for interim measures before a court. Such restriction is generally regarded as inconvenient for businesses and discourages the selection of Italy as a place for international arbitration. How does Italy set precedent for other jurisdictions when it comes to dispute resolution? The Italian judicial system is based on the application of statutory rules of law, which are codified by the legislator. The judiciary cannot interfere with the legislative powers of the Parliament, as the governance model adopted by the Constitution is the separation of powers. The role of the courts is limited to interpret the rules and apply them to resolve disputes. As a result, precedents in Italy are only persuasive, and the judgements are only binding Is ADR readily adopted in Italy? ADR systems were not widely used in Italy until a few years ago, when mediation and assisted negotiation became mandatory in several civil and commercial disputes, relating, among others, to on the parties, their successors or assignees. Despite the stare decisis principle is not adopted by the Italian legal system, the judicial practice largely proves otherwise. Judges often base their decisions on case law previously rendered in similar cases. Thus, there is a general expectation that precedents of higher courts shall be followed by lower courts. This expectation reaches its peak when the Court of Cassation identifies principles of law that are relevant to resolve the case. As its primary function is to ensure the uniform interpretation of the law, decisions taken by the Court of Cassation, and particularly by its Joint Sessions, have great weight on subsequent similar cases. medical malpractice, lease agreements, insurance agreements and real estate matters. After the implementation of a comprehensive reform, the commencement of legal actions relating to the aforesaid matters requires to preliminary explore an amicable resolution with the assistance of attorneys or through a qualified mediation organisation, leaving litigation as the final stageof thedispute. Failure to enter into mediation and assisted negotiation, when mandatorily required, prevents the courts from hearing the case. 67 DEC 2019 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM Expert Insight By Avv. Daniele Ferretti, Esq., Ferretti Firm "Lawyers are required to provide a fee estimate of their legal fees before being retained by the client; the agreement cannot include the assignment of any asset being affected by the dispute. If the lawyer fails to do so, he or she may be sanctioned according to the rules of professional responsibility."