Italy: Legal Environment

Business Contract

General Observation: You must define precisely the seller's obligations and the methods of quality control.
Law Applicable to the Contract: You must be particularly vigilant about the law applicable to contracts and the methods of conflict resolution. Italy has signed the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The Italian legal system is not easy for a foreigner, so it is recommended that international laws be used or an arbitration system be called on.
Advisable Incoterms: Choose an incoterm FOB or CIF or more. “CIP” – carriage and insurance paid to destination, is usually correct: see International Chamber of Commerce. Avoid EXW, if you do not want to be involved in organizing the transport inside Italy.
Language of Domestic Contract: Italian.
Other Laws Which Can Be Used in Domestic Contracts: USA, England, Switzerland.

National Organisations: Italian Bureau for Patents and Trademarks
Copyright SIAE (Italian Society for Authors and Editors).
Regional Organisations: Patent Protection: the European Patent Office
Governing trademarks, designs and models: the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office)
International Membership: Member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
Signatory to the Paris Convention For the Protection of Intellectual Property
Membership to the TRIPS agreement - Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

Type of property and law	Validity	International Agreements Signed
Patent 1939 Law on Patents	20 years	Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Trademark 1939 Law on Models	10 years	Trademark Law Treaty Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Design Law on Designs	15 years
Copyright 2000 Copyright Law		Berne convention For the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms Rome ConventionFor the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations WIPO Copyright Treaty WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
Industrial Models 1939 Law on Industrial Designs	15 years

Equal Treatment of Nationals and Foreigners: While there is no basis for de jure discrimination against foreigners, there are reports of de facto discrimination.
The Language of Justice: Italian
Legal Similarities: The Italian Civil Code was created on the basis of Roman law modified by the Napoleonic Code. It is also modeled on German law. The highest law is the Constitution.

Civil Code	Regulates relations between private individuals
Penal Code	Sets the limits of individual freedom and the penalties in case of breach of the law
Civil Procedure Code	Establishes the rules for civil procedures.
Penal Procedure Code	Establishes the rules for penal procedures.

Supreme Court of Italy (Corte di Cassazione)	Reviews the final decisions of the Courts of Appeal for civil and criminal issues.
Court of Appeal	Second step of civil or criminal proceedings.
Tribunals	First step of civil or criminal proceedings.
Council of State (Consiglio di Stato)	Reviews the final decisions of the Regional Courts of Appeal for administrative issues.
Regional Administrative Courts (Tribunali Amministrativi Regionali)	First step of administrative proceedings.
Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale)	Examines legislation, settles disputes between the three powers (legislative, executive and judicial) and between the Republic and its regions.

Judge, Lawyer, Notary, Magistrate: Their role is equivalent to that of judges, lawyers, notaries and magistrates in other countries.

Arbitration: This is a procedure provided for in the Civil Code which allows disputes to be settled by reaching a solution (lodo arbitrale) which can have the same value as a sentence of the first order.
Arbitration Law: Arbitration is governed by the Civil Procedure Code (artt. 806-840).
Conformity to International Commercial Arbitration Rules: Party to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
Party to the Geneva Protocol on Arbitration Clauses.
Party to the Geneva Convention of the Execution of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
Appointment of Arbitrators: Arbitrators may be chosen by the parties or appointed by the Arbitration Council.
Arbitration Procedure: After hearing the parties, the arbitrators decide on a sentence which cannot be contested except in the explicit case of false evidence.
Permanent Arbitration Bodies: Venice Chamber of Arbitration (Sectors Covered: International Trade)
Milan Chamber of Arbitration (Sectors Covered: Civil and commercial controversies)
European Arbitration Chamber (Sectors Covered: International controversies)

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