ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Alessandro Pistochini, Francesca Lazzeri, Andrea Gaudio and Guido Stampanoni Bassi, Pistochini Avvocati Studio Legale
Pistochini Avvocati Studio Legale Corso di Porta Vittoria 10 20122 Milan Italy Tel: +39 02 3037081 Fax: +39 02 30370899
Email: studio@pistochinilex.it Web: www.pistochiniavvocati.it
1. Legal Framework 1.1 International Conventions Italy is a signatory to several international conventions on bribery and corruption, including: • the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (signed in Paris on 17 December 1997 and ratified on 15 December 2000); • the Convention on the Fight Against Corruption Involving Officials of the European Communities or Officials of Member States of the European Union (drafted on the basis of Article K.3 (2) (c) of the Treaty on European Union, signed in Brussels on 26 May 1997 and ratified on 6 March 2003); • the United Nations Convention against Corruption (signed in New York on 31 October 2003 and rati - fied on 5 October 2010); • the Council of Europe’s Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (signed in Strasbourg on 27 January 1999 and ratified on 13 June 2013); and • the Council of Europe’s Civil Law Convention on Corruption (signed in Strasbourg on 4 November 1999 and ratified on 13 June 2013). 1.2 National Legislation In the Italian legal system, the legislation concerning corruption offences is provided for in a section dedi - cated to offences against public administration in the Criminal Code and in the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, some fundamental provisions specifically applicable to bribery offences can also be found in
Legislative Decree No 231/2001 (which refers to the administrative liability of legal entities – see 3.3 Cor- porate Liability ) and in the Civil Code (which covers bribery in the private sector – see 2.1 Bribery ). 1.3 Guidelines for the Interpretation and Enforcement of National Legislation The interpretation and enforcement of anti-corruption provisions is requested of the Italian courts, whose activity in this respect is facilitated by the legal doc - trine. Although Italy does not adopt a stare decisis principle, some important case law rulings play a significant role in the interpretation of anti-corruption rules. On the administrative side, the National Anti-Corrup - tion Authority has published numerous recommenda - tions and guidelines. Despite many of them not being binding, they assist in the interpretation and enforce - ment of the rules aimed at preventing corruption. For more on this matter, see 8.2 Compliance Guidelines and Best Practices . 1.4 Recent Key Amendments to National Legislation The most effective amendments (following Legislative Decree No 150/2022, the so-called Cartabia Reform) to the anti-corruption measures are: • Law No 114/24, which has repealed the crime of abuse in office (Article 323 of the Criminal Code; for more details, see 2.4. Public Officials – Abuse in Office ) and amended the definition of the crime of influence peddling, narrowing the scope of
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