Revista da EMERJ - V. 19 - n. 4 - 2017

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 R. EMERJ, Rio de Janeiro, v. 19, n. 4, p. 78 - 100, Setembro/Dezembro. 2017  83
ian doctrine of the early twentieth century, and rejected by the bankruptcy
law passed by fascism in 1942 3 .
Since the 30’s of the twentieth century, in Italy, mediation gradu-
ally lost its importance and it was no longer taught in universities for over
seventy years; it was (and still is) part of the Italian legal tradition, but
it was forgotten, by the potential users (people) and by the professionals
(lawyers and judges).
In 1993 the Law 580 ruled : each Italian Chamber of Commerce had
to set up a conciliation (and arbitration) chamber. At a very slow pace ADRs
started their way in contemporary Italy. The Legislative Decree no. 5/2003
(in force since 2005) ruled voluntary mediation in corporate, financial and
banking controversies. Mediation bodies were ruled; lawyers and no lawyers
could be mediators. Specific training requirements, especially on communi-
cation, were very modest. Nobody (rectius , no lawyer) used it, and when I
asked why, lawyers replied: “Because it was not compulsory”.
There were a high number of litigation cases, long lasting litigation
cases, a huge numbers of lawyers (with decreasing revenues), a “ shrinking”
in the litigation market (the number of new civil proceedings has decreased
due to the economic crisis started in 2008, the length of proceedings and
the increase in court fees) 4 and a tremendous number of pending civil
litigation cases in the overall judicial system (5,700,000 in 2009).
3 Matteucci Giovanni, “Insolvenza e negoziazione in Italia: uno sguardo al passato per comprendere il presente e, forse,
prevedere un po’ del futuro – Insolvency and negotiation in Italy; a look to the past to understand the present and,
perhaps, forecast a bit of the future” 21.2.2013 or -
tarista.it/insolvenza_negoziazione_sguardo_storico
4 Increase in court fees, according to the Italian Bar Council (Consiglio Nazionale Forense) + 180% from 2005 to
2012; CNF January 24th, 2014
lo8457.html .
“The decrease in case filings. According to the year-end forecasts ... 2014 recorded a significant positive balance: in
practice, the civil courts of first instance delivered 330,000 judgments more compared to the disputes initiated by citizens
and businesses. The result depends on the fall in new cases (-4.2% over 2013) and the increase in the decisions of judges
(+3.9%). In other words: less litigation and more ruling.
“There is no clear diagnosis of the reasons for the decline in filings. In addition to the likely impact of the crisis on trade
and thus litigation, in 2014 some measures for alternative dispute settlement were introduced, such as arbitration, assisted
negotiation and mediation that have lightened the courts”, said Fabio Bartolomeo director general of statistics at the
Ministry of Justice.
“ In fact, last year there has been the best result since 2008, bringing the potential backlog of civil courts as of December
31 under the threshold of 3 million cases. A number of dossiers which is still impressive - certainly - but progressing at
this rate it could be zeroed in nine years. Which are many, but represent a “measurable” period, especially when com-
pared with the projections referred to the pace of disposal recorded in 2012 and 2013, which were three times longer”.
- Dell’Oste Cristiano, Finizio Michela and Mazzei Bianca Lucia, “Less litigation (-4.2%) and more rulings (+3.9%) are
reducing the civil justice backlog”, in Il Sole 24 Ore, 10.08.2015
cento-are-reducing-the-civil-justice-backlog-095331.php?uuid=ACpyqBd&icmpid=boxhp