ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Filippo Pacciani and Antonio D’Arcangelo, Legance
8.3 Live Evidence and Cross- Examination
From a procedural perspective, the act of inter - vention must state the reasons for the interven- tion, be notified to all parties involved in the pending claim, and be filed with the administra - tive court no later than 30 days before the public hearing on the merits. 7.2 Roles of Additional Parties Interveners accept the claim’s current state and degree. Within the proceedings, they may only support the claimant or the defendant, and may not introduce new grounds. 8. Evidence 8.1 Disclosure/Discovery Automatic disclosure/discovery is not required in administrative claims. As a general rule, parties must provide all evi - dence available to them that substantiates the facts underpinning the grounds of the claim and any exceptions. 8.2 Alternatives to Disclosure/Discovery Anyone seeking to assert a right or fact must suf - ficiently prove their claims in court by submitting the relevant documentation. In some cases, the administrative court may exercise its investigative powers at its sole dis - cretion to obtain the necessary documentation for resolving the dispute. However, the court’s investigative powers can - not compensate for a complete failure by the parties to submit evidence.
Unlike civil and criminal proceedings, adminis - trative court proceedings require evidence to be acquired through documents rather than live tes - timony. Testimonial evidence is also permitted in written form, with witnesses answering ques - tions in writing instead of appearing live before the court. 9. Time Limits and Preliminary Steps 9.1 Preliminary Requirements There is no formal requirement to complete pre - liminary steps, such as pre-action correspond - ence, before bringing a challenge before admin - istrative courts. 9.2 Exhausting Internal Appeals There is no formal requirement to exhaust any context specific appeals before bringing a chal - lenge before administrative courts. 9.3 Time Limits The time limits for bringing a challenge before administrative courts vary depending on the type of claim. • Claims for annulment must be filed within 60 days from the date of knowledge of the Administrative Decision. If the Administra - tive Decision does not provide for individual notification, the 60-day period begins from the date the publication period of that deci - sion has expired. For disputes relating to the awarding of public contracts, the 60-day time limit is reduced to 30 days. • Claims for damages must be filed within 120 days from the date the event occurred or, if the damage directly results from the Adminis -
173 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook