Can an Italian Court Use the American Approach to Delay Reduction?

Abstract

Italy may have the largest backlog and the slowest pace of civil and criminal litigation among all western countries. This article represents an effort to outline some of the issues associated with delay in Italian courts and to consider whether solutions to delay from the American experience might be helpful for Italian courts and in countries with similar problems. After a brief examination of the tribunal in Bologna as an example of case processing in Italian general-jurisdiction courts of first instance, the article outlines possible suggestions for improvement that might be offered to this court based on the American experience—such as time standards and limitation of unnecessary continuances. It is not easy to apply such remedies in Italian courts, and the authors describe five factors that would impede any effort to implement suggestions for improvement based on the American experience. They conclude by offering ideas on what might be necessary for an Italian court to provide “a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law,” as provided in the European Convention on Human Rights.