- The protection of the weaker and professional
contractor and the industrial subcontracting
- Self-regulation and
private autonomy
- Abuse of economic dependence - Obligation to
contract
- The protection of the weaker consumer
contractor
- The protection of the weaker and professional
contractor and the industrial
subcontracting
Next to the discipline of the weaker consumer contractor
protection have been developed in parallel regulations regarding
the protection of the weaker professional contractor: so the law
June 18, 1998 n. 198 in the field of industrial subcontracting, so
the legislative decree October 9, 2002, n. 231 on the so-called
commercial transactions. The discipline of the industrial
subcontracting agreement contained in the law 192/1998 provides, in
particular, interesting general theory cues and raises many issues
also of systematic order and co-ordination with provisions of the
Civil Code, as regards to both the general law on obligations and
contracts, and the rules relating to individual contractual
forms.
- Self-regulation and private
autonomy
The research explores the issues concerning relations between
the self-regulation phenomena, with specific regard to the system
of advertisement self-regulation, and state law, both in terms of
the importance of the former in the latter and of ordinary Judge's
interference powers and control on the self-regulatory rules and
judgment. Particular interest topics are the qualification of the
advertisement self-regulation membership clause, the nature of the
proceedings before the Giurì, as well as the compliance judgement
of the single self-regulatory rule to the rules of the state. The
theme also has many points of contact with the Civil Code and
specific regulation on competition, either in terms of the
conventional limitations to itself or under that of unfair
competition; with the rules on trademarks moreover. An interest
topic is also the study of the different types of communication and
its state regulation as self-regulatory. Some of these forms of
communication, insofar as may be comparable or similar to the
expression of thought, arouse also discussing about the possibility
of their (self-) limitation.
- Abuse of economic dependence - Obligation to
contract
Article. 9 of Law 192/1998 contains a general prohibition of
abuse of economic dependence in relations between firms which lies
partly within the civil law of obligations and contracts, partly in
the context of antitrust law. Among the questions posed by the rule
is the scope of the prohibition (limited or not to the field of
industrial subcontracting), the conditions for applying the
discipline and the system of remedies. In that last regard, the
question arises whether the rule is an obligation to contract or if
this obligation can be taken in the process of legal mediation. The
theme, which fits under the rules of protection of the
(professional) weaker party, finds interesting points of contact
with that of the general clause of good faith and with the figure
of the abuse of the law, insofar as the extent of the integration
powers as a matter of equity of the contract by the court.
- The protection of the weaker consumer
contractor
The legislation of consumer protection has been enhanced over
the years of numerous interventions, mostly of Community origin,
and it is now part of the Consumer Code (Legislative Decree no.
206/2005). Of particular interest is in this context, the rules on
unfair terms, the ones on product liability for damages caused by
defective product, and moreover the provisions relating to the
so-called "Sales of consumer goods" and "lack of conformity." In
this context and with regard to the rules on the sale of consumer
goods, the subject of specific investigation has been the
subjective scope of application (definition of consumer, vendor and
manufacturer) as well as the objective scope of application of it
in reference to the consumer goods definition. The analysis showed
the characteristics and potentialities of the legislation under the
investigated profiles, and also the transversal character of the
same with each subsequent question and need for coordination and
interaction with the Civil Code provisions relating to individual
contractual forms.
