COVID-19 EMERGENCY AND JUDICIAL HEARINGS IN ITALY
Giovanni Gigliotti
Avvocato, Contenziosista, Responsabile Dipartimento Private Clients e Partner @ Pavia e Ansaldo Studio Legale
Italian Law Decree no. 23/20 extends the terms provided for by Law Decrees 11/20 and 18/20: distance communication technology in Italian courts and other measures to face the crisis.
Through a new Law Decree (No. 23 of April 8, 2020) Italian Government has extended the terms of the emergency legislation in matter of Court proceedings and ADR to face the current ‘Covid-19’ health emergency
Inter alia, all hearings concerning civil matters scheduled from March 9, 2020 up to May 11, 2020 will be postponed and all trial deadlines expiring in the same period will be stayed or extended. All terms to carry out any activity in mandatory ADR proceedings are stayed too. Exceptions only apply in extremely urgent cases[1] and, if the Court confirms the urgency, when a postponement may affect the Parties’ rights.
Besides, the emergency legislation provides that hearings may be held during the lockdown period via videoconference through Skype for Business and/or Microsoft Teams. Such a provision, with no precedent, aims to avoid the paralysis of the judicial system. However, it cannot be ruled out that the videoconference hearings system may work as a trial stage to be hopefully confirmed also when the current emergency period will be over.
Hearings concerning administrative judicial proceedings will be postponed too, but courts may give an order without hearing the Parties in case of requests for urgent measures.
Finally, also all scheduled hearings concerning criminal matters other than urgent will be postponed (and the relevant deadlines are stayed) and the videoconference hearing system will be adopted in trials involving jaled people.
[1] Namely: protection of minors; family support obligations; fundamental rights of the person; compulsory health treatments and mental illness; voluntary pregnancy interruption; protection against domestic abuses; expulsion and detention of foreign nationals, including nationals of other EU Member States; petitions for a stay of enforcement of judgments in proceedings that are pending before Courts of Appeal or the Supreme Court; appointment of a protector or advisor for an incapable person, support administration, guardianship, interdiction and incapacitation under circumstances of extreme urgency.