Jurisdiction without conflict? Remarks on non-adverse proceedings in Italy

Abstract

The subject. This essay describes the procedural treatment of non-contentious matters inItaly. After a brief historical recount on the evolution of the concept of ‘non-contentiousjurisdiction’, from Roman law to the law in force, the chapter emphasizes the extreme varietyof non-adverse proceedings governed by the Code of civil procedure and special statutesas well.The purpose of the article is to understand the ‘default rules’ of non-adverse proceedings(meaning the rules applicable insofar as the law does not ordain otherwise) provided by theCode of civil procedure. These rules outline a procedure in chambers that is simpler andless time-consuming than the ordinary one: for these reasons, the procedure in chambershas been increasingly adopted for the judicial treatment of a few contentious matters, withmixed results.Methodology. The methodological basis for the study: general scientific methods (analysis,synthesis, comparison, description); private and academic (comparative legal, interpretation,formal-legal).Results. It is difficult to foresee whether in the near future more attention will be devotedby Italian legislators to non-contentious jurisdiction so as to lay down rules that are uniformand consistent. In recent decades, Italian civil procedure has been re-written again andagain in the attempt to solve the most serious and enduring problem of the justice system,namely, the excessive length of proceedings.Conclusions. As far as non-contentious matters, in light of the notorious overload of Italiancourts the author believes that they could be handles more efficiently by administrativeauthorities.

Keywords

• civil procedure
• non-contentious
• jurisdiction
• issue of law
• nonadverse proceedings
• italy