Justice

The essay begins by addressing the doctrinal controversy in Italy regarding the definition of administrative functions of government. The analysis starts with Zanobini's definition of the administrative function as an activity of public authorities aimed at the concrete care of a public interest. It then moves to address the definitions put forth by Marongiu and Scoca, to those put forth by Benvenuti and Giannini. After reconstruction of the debate, the author develops a definition with the key feature that the administrative function is an activity carried out by public authorities that is always resolved in accordance with the limitations imposed by the laws and those resulting from real-world situations. Additionally, it is an activity that is defined by a connection to the past and an eye towards the resolution of difficult circumstances in the future.

Public power and private power are not alternatives or necessarily conflicting: the economy requires adaptable, multi-dimensional and fluid rules rather than rigid, albeit reassuring, schemas. What can be considered private power and what are the causes that determine its weight? By what means does public power use private power and defend it? To answer these questions is to consider the relationship between politics and administration, lobbying, authorship and credibility of administration, and the search for a renewed measure of trust.

An appeal to the Court of Cassation (against a decision of the Council of State) for reasons of jurisdiction can never concern a principle of law, even if this principle is stated in an interpretive ruling issued by the Council of State. The 'nomophylactic role' attributed to the plenary session of the Council of State (i.e. its exclusive role in the interpretation of the substantive and procedural rules which it applies), is a safeguard of the balance between the two jurisdictions (ordinary and administrative) that is enshrined in the Italian Constitution.

In the following paper I will focus on the understanding, components, and contingent elements that have defined the evolution of the rule of law that has dominated legal and judicial practice for the better part of a decade now, especially in Europe. It goes without saying that in an undertaking of this nature, the selection of relevant aspects and, more importantly, the considerations associated with them are not immune to a perspective that is closely aligned with the duties of a judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union. In view of the particular relevance of recent developments in the rule of law in third countries, namely in the USA and Israel, it seems appropriate to also include these in the analysis.

Globally, governments and private parties such as businesses, NGOs, and individuals struggle to handle a growing number of used electronic devices. There are poisoning effects on land that often take many years to emerge, hindering several attempts to achieve land degradation neutrality. Legislation and legal enforcement must concentrate on eliminating and neutralizing dangerous compounds from e-waste, ensuring proper storage and preventing illicit trading. After examining relevant public international law and concerned organizations, a worldwide scenario and taxonomy of the relevant UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are assessed. The paper concludes that although public authorities are working hard to reduce environmental pollution caused by e-waste, existing international, regional, and national legislative tools and approaches could be more effectively implemented. It is necessary to take global actions to ensure environmental protection and human safety while addressing ambiguities in both national and international law.

Res judicata in orders for payment may be challenged by means of late appeals against payment orders under Article 650 of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure (CPC): a consistent interpretation of art. 650 CPC allows a debtor who has not been warned of the possibility of contesting the unfair terms of the contract to take legal action when finally informed of his rights.

In the Italian legal system – a constitutional State that has emerged from the ferocious totalitarianisms of the 20th century – access to judges is filtered by a control of worthiness that is based on indeterminate concepts, namely variable and personal tables of values. It is therefore possible – necessary, perhaps – to use the paradigm of legitimacy to argue for a broadening of access. It is necessary to loosen, if not quite sever, the hitherto tight and suffocating bond between the proximity of the subject to the physical place where the administrative decision impacts, and the actionability of the claim. There is a minimum objective, recently framed by the Plenary Assembly of the Council of State: to understand vicinitas in terms of contiguity that is no longer only material, but also axiological. And then a more ambitious one: to “de-subjectivise” the claim, to the point of configuring trans-subjective rights, that is, “without master”.

Judicial systems are experiencing a period of strong institutional and social pressure to improve, on the one hand, their effectiveness and efficiency and on the other, to increase their level of transparency and accountability. This is particularly evident in the Italian context, in which the debate regarding the judicial system has always been very heated and where numerous attempts at reform have taken place. Among other things, a new reform of the judicial system is considered the sine qua non for the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). This article aims to explore the dissemination of socio-environmental and sustainability reporting among Italian judicial offices, with particular regard to the factors that facilitate and hinder such practices. To this end, a survey involving 430 offices belonging to the Italian ordinary justice system was conducted. The survey, based on 57 valid responses, highlights a very limited dissemination of sustainability reporting, despite the fact that there is a good knowledge of its function and therefore an awareness of its potential usefulness. Interesting results are highlighted in reference to the factors hindering or facilitating the related processes. Last but not least, the paper suggests some implications for policy makers and public administration that are willing to take this path.

Article 80, paragraph 5, letter c) of the Code of Public Contracts provides for exclusion from participation of economic operators who have been convicted of serious professional misconduct affecting their integrity or reliability. The rationale for this prevision is «the need», of the public administration, «to ensure the reliability of those who propose themselves as contractors» (Council of State, decision no.1412, of April 11, 2016) through an evaluation process to determine their integrity. This provision has been the subject of a recent decision by the Regional Administrative Court for Sardinia: no. 646 of October 3, 2022. That decision focused on the discretion left by this provision – at the point where it provides for the exclusion of the economic operator for serious professional misconduct on the basis of any means considered by the Contracting Authority as adequate. The decision has clarified how this evaluation presupposes a specific reasoning based on two levels: one objective and one relative, which considers both the gravity of the professional misconduct committed by the economic operator, and the prejudice that it may cause to the specific contract in question.

With the decision n. 248/2022 of the 12th of February 2022, the Administrative Court of Puglia has ruled on aspects of the impact of a new generation of agrivoltaic plant, concluding them to be less impacting than a traditional photovoltaic plant. The Judge of first instance recognized the inadequacy of the Regional Territorial Landscape Plan of the Region of Puglia with reference to these new plant configurations, concluding agrivoltaic plants as being compatible with the agricultural and pastoral uses activities in the region.