Italy

IV. Government responses

Current Activities and Future Commitments [page 26]

B. Operational Principles

Guiding Principles 25 & 26

The Italian legal system ensures access to effective remedies to protect against human rights violations occurred within its territory: art. 24 and art.111 of the Italian Constitution guarantee the right to be heard in Court and take judicial action for the protection of his/her own rights and legitimate interests, and right to a fair trial.

As far human rights abuses by business, the Italian government must indeed guarantee that victims of human rights abuses by business may exercise their right to effective remedy. The right to an effective remedy is a human right, which has to be guaranteed by a competent, independent, and impartial authority established by law.

(…)

In order to facilitate awareness of the available remedies, improve the efficiency of the judicial system, and better guarantee the right of access to judicial remedy, Italy undertakes to:

Planned Measures

• Within the framework of the monitoring mechanism set in the Plan (see par. V) give special attention to the following priorities:

– Conduct a review of the legal mechanisms and develop a practical and comprehensive toolkit of the remedies available in domestic law;

– Identify eventual gaps and/or existing barriers jeopardising access to judicial remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuses especially with regard to extraterritorial violations also basing on the relation between parent company and subsidiary;

– Evaluate the introduction of relevant additional legislative measures to strengthen access to effective remedy both in civil, criminal and administrative law;

• Within the framework of the on-going parliamentary activity of reform of judicial system, raise the awareness on the following priorities: i) remedies against the excessive length of civil proceedings; ii) measures to strengthen special courts for enterprises by extending their competence to consumer protection-related claims, misleading advertising and unfair competition; iii) special court sections for human rights (especially children rights) and family issues; iv) introduction of criminal provisions against economic crimes, also committed abroad; v) verification of the possibility of introduction of the class action.
• Activate, with the assistance of the CIDU, and also through the collaboration with the Ordine Forense, training courses for judges and lawyers on the legal implications of business and human rights;
• Keep adequate level of funding for legal aid and guarantee its access also to non-national and non-resident claimants, in particular irregular migrants victims of crimes perpetrated by organised criminal network, such as trafficking and smuggling and allow them to denounce crimes irrespectively of their status.