Services

The credit recovery activity in Italy can be classically divided into two phases: an out-of-court or amicable phase and, if this is ineffective, a judicial phase, or by means of the procedural instruments that the justice of the Italian State provides

The first is when trying to amicably obtain the payment of debts (because debts are not disputed): the creditor's appointee invites the debtor to pay the amount due by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt (letter of formal notice), by means of warning him that in the event of non-execution of the payment within a certain period, legal proceedings will be taken.

​

If the debtor does not pay out of court, the credit will be verified and declared by the judge so that the creditor can obtain payment. The procedures for obtaining a decision from the Judge are essentially two: the ordinary judgment (ordinary judgment of cognition) and the abbreviated or injunctive judgment. It is not always true that injunction proceedings are the shortest way to obtain the judge's decision.

​

1a) ORDINARY PROCESS: the duration of the ordinary process can vary from a few months if the sum is not high, up to 5,000.00 Euros (because the competence belongs to the Justice of the Peace and the relative procedure is rather short) or several years if the jurisdiction belongs to the ordinary judge and the disputes are complex.

1b) "SHORTEN" PROCEDURE FOR THE RECOVERY OF CREDITS: In order to remedy the long duration of civil cases, the legislator has introduced a new "shortened" procedure (called "summary procedure") which allows you to recover a credit in a considerably reduced time.

​

This procedure can be used from the moment in which the reasons given by the various parties in their respective introductory documents make it possible to establish that the dispute has minimal characters of complexity.

The duration of this procedure is shorter than that of the ordinary procedure because the verification of the validity of the appeal is faster. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the device, since it was adopted, has proved to be very modest; in fact, it is sufficient for the debtor's lawyer to propose a certain number of disputes, even if unfounded, to induce the judge not to order the application of this procedure.

​

THE EUROPEAN INJUNCTION.

​

With the EU Regulation no. 1896/2006, amended by EU Regulation 2421/2015, a European injunction procedure was introduced with the aim of providing consumers and businesses with a new tool for the protection of their credits when it comes to cross-border relations, or when two or several parties are based in different European states.

The European injunction can be requested by the creditor, even without the assistance of a lawyer, following the procedure provided for by the aforementioned directive, and which is fully explained at the following site: https: //e-justice.europa.eu/ 41 / FR / European_payment_order? init = true

​

As a result, European procedural rules applicable to all members with the exception of Denmark were introduced.

However, the European injunction procedure does not replace the procedures provided by each of the Member States but integrates the procedural tools of each judicial order to make them available to businesses and citizens.

Therefore, in cross-border disputes, the creditor will be able to choose between the recovery of his debts through national legal instruments or through the European injunction.

​

The request for a European injunction is proposed directly to the competent court according to Community law and by completing the appropriate form, which must contain all the elements useful for identifying the dispute and its cross-border nature.

​

If all the conditions for the European injunction are met, the judge issues the injunction within 30 days of the request; the judge also notifies the debtor of the injunction.

​

From the receipt of the notification of the injunction, the debtor can decide whether:

to. pay the debts

b. to make opposition to the injunction: in this case, he will have to lodge an opposition to the European order for payment, at the same court that issued it and within 30 days from the date of notification of the same.

​

In the event of an objection, the procedure continues according to the laws of the country in which it takes place, which generally requires the assistance of a lawyer.

​

Once the injunction has been declared enforceable, it becomes enforceable in all European countries, without the need for further recognition.