Trust has been included by the legislator among the key principles of the 2023 Public Contracts Code. This has significant consequences for the relationships between the parties involved in adopting the code's provisions, including judges, economic operators, public officials and upper-level administrators. An examination of the most recent case law shows that trust has become a priority criterion of interpretation used by judges in judgments of legitimacy and liability and has been adopted as a key element in relations between public decision-makers and economic operators, as well as between officials and their superiors. In the latter case, trust is considered a remedy for behavioural phenomena such as so-called defensive bureaucracy, which leads to a decline in administrative efficiency. However, the adoption of trust as a principle gives rise to several critical issues due to its possible repercussions in terms of reduced guarantees for economic operators in the context of judicial protection. From a behavioural perspective, the novel principle, particularly when interpreted in conjunction with the recent legislation on conflicts of interest, may potentially imply the risk of opportunistic behaviour on the part of public decision-makers.

The Italian judicial system may be about to make a historic transition: from the mere digitalization of its documents to a judicial activity shaped by the possibilities that digital technology offers, including the use of artificial intelligence techniques in the performance of the judicial function. This contribution offers a summary of the research carried out by the Authors, as members of the research group of the IUSS Pavia, within the NEXT GEN UPP project, launched in 2021 by the Italian Ministry of Justice with the aim of enhancing the digitalization of judicial activities, improving organizational processes and promoting the application of Legal Analytics (LA) tools to legal texts. The activity described in the essay concerns the design of “next-generation templates” functional for the drafting of acts by judges and lawyers: templates capable of maximizing the efficiency of judicial activities and creating an IT environment suitable for the use of the most advanced artificial intelligence technologies.

The Regional Administrative Court of Lazio referred to the Court of Justice three questions concerning the compatibility of the Italian rules on sporting disciplinary sanctions (Decree-Law n. 220/2003 converted into Law n. 280/2003) with European Union law and, in particular, with the principle of effective judicial protection, with the principle of legality, with the principle of the specific nature and sufficient determination of the offences, and with the fundamental freedoms under Articles 45, 49 and 56 TFEU.

This contribution outlines the provision of preliminary assistance in administration as seen in recent legislation and case law. First, the key elements of preliminary assistance are described. Then, the analysis addresses the jurisprudential orientations related to its application in the context of digitalized administrative action. The authors propose that, on the one hand, preliminary assistance is an essential means of overcoming technological problems and the digital divide between citizens and government administration, and, on the other, it is a tool for implementing the principles of simplification by helping to reduce the burdens on private individuals who participate in the administrative procedure.

The emergency caused by the Covid-19 pandemic leads us to reflect on tools that Public Administrations can use on public procurement contracts (services, supplies, works) about healthcare. The analysis will focus on italian “Public Contract Code”, on Ordinances n. 630 and 639/2020 (Civil Protection Department), and European Commission Communication 1.04.2020.