ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Giovanni F Casucci, Matteo Casucci, Serena Spadavecchia and Alice Viviana Niccoli, EY Tax & Law
appeal, the new decision – unless the panel of judges orders a further or new court expert stage (which may add up to six months) – is issued a few weeks later and cannot be appealed further. Decisions issued in ordinary proceedings (ie, proceedings on the merit) can be appealed with - in six months from the issuing or – if the losing party is notified of the decision – 30 days from the day of the notification. The judge usually schedules only two formal hearings and the parties then have two rounds of written defences to present the case, reply and make their conclusion and final requests. These proceedings can last up to two to three years. The decision issued can be contested before the Supreme Court (but only for issues concerning the implementation and/or interpretation of the law). The appeal process does not differ depending on the court where the case was filed. 8.2 Factual or Legal Review In appeals against decisions issued in urgent proceedings it is possible to add facts and docu - ments/evidence and the appeal judges review both factual and legal issues. The appeal courts in merit proceedings review de novo factual and legal issues of the first instance court, while the Supreme Court (after the appeal stage) only reviews legal issues. The court of appeal decides the case only on the specific grounds of appeal submitted by the appealing party. It is then up to the appealing party to clearly set out the issues they wish to appeal in the writ of summons introducing the appeal stage.
Appeals are primarily decided on written sub - missions, although at least two formal hearings are typically held, and an additional final hearing may be requested by either party for oral argu - ment. 9. Criminal Offences 9.1 Prosecution Process, Penalties and Defences Trade secret theft constitutes a criminal offence that is prosecutable only upon the complaint of the trade secret holder. The holder must file a complaint with the public prosecutor within three months of becoming aware – or of when they reasonably should have become aware – of the theft. The penalty for trade secret theft, depending on the seriousness of the crime and if IT instru - ments are involved, is imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to approximately EUR1,000. The available defences in criminal proceedings largely mirror those in civil cases. However, a criminal charge may be dismissed if it is not proven that the offence involved fraudulent intent and/or resulted in actual economic gain – ie, profit derived from the exploitation of the trade secret. The trade secret holder has several rights during the criminal process: • Prior to trial, they may authorise private inves - tigations to collect evidence of the theft. • During the preliminary investigation, they may actively suggest avenues of inquiry, request that the public prosecutor pursue certain lines of investigation, or prompt the judge to admit
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