Insights

News, decisions and practical guides

Commentary on the most relevant decisions of the TAR and the Council of State, updates on the Public Contracts Code and practical guides on Italian administrative law.

The firm's column

L'algoritmo e il provvedimento

Where artificial intelligence meets administrative law: automated decisions before the courts, procurement of AI systems, the AI Act and Law No 132/2025 in public administration. Episode 1: The AI Act's 2 August has come.

Area of law Topic

Decision of the week · C.G.A.R.S., 13 July 2026

Annulment out of time: without a final criminal conviction, self-redress is unlawful

C.G.A., judicial division, judgment No 478/2026: the derogation in Article 21-nonies(2-bis) of Law No 241/1990 applies only where the falsehood, including a mere misrepresentation of fact, has been established by a final criminal judgment. With the contrary authorities and the consequences for purchasers.

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From the press · SudPress · 12 August 2026

It is not the will of the gods: Etna has been closing Catania for years

With Dario Riccioli, in SudPress: for Catania airport, Etna's eruptions are no longer an exceptional and unforeseeable event but an ordinary risk of the site, foreseeable in the whether, uncertain only in the when. What matters, in law, is the organisation put in place to face it. Full article in Italian.

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Decision of the week · TAR Catania, 11 August 2026

Revoking a project finance procedure: after the tender is launched, second thoughts have a price

TAR Catania, Second Chamber, judgment No 2353/2026: revocation for a fresh assessment of the public interest upheld, but once the tender is launched the promoter is entitled to an indemnity for actual loss under Article 21-quinquies of Law No 241/1990. With notes on time limits, access and exclusion clauses.

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The column · L'algoritmo e il provvedimento · 2 August 2026

The AI Act's 2 August has come: what applies from today, what is postponed

Transparency on chatbots and deepfakes, ACN supervision and penalties from today; high risk postponed to 2 December 2027 by the Digital Omnibus (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744). The map for businesses, professionals and individuals.

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A working hypothesis · Planning

The Lidl case of Via Palazzotto: res judicata as the law of the case

CGA judgment No 13/2018 and a hypothesis it falls to the Public Prosecutor to verify: absent a plan variant, the final judgment would stand violated. Nullity, compliance proceedings, white zones.

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Decision of the week · Landscape and state property

Ognina: even the Heritage Authority’s yes must be reasoned

Sicilian CGA, twin judgments Nos 328 and 354/2026: favourable opinions on the marina extension annulled. Full reasons required even for consent, generic prescriptions void of content, proof of reversibility for the ancient pier.

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Decision of the week · Ports and state property

Port of Catania: the new Port Master Plan partially null and void

TAR Catania, Third Chamber, judgments of 13 July 2026, nos. 2058, 2060, 2062 and 2063: the Plan is null for absolute lack of competence where it covers areas outside the Port Authority's boundaries. With notes on nullity and procedural standing.

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Decision of the week · Antitrust

The Amazon-AGCM case reaches the Constitutional Court

Council of State, Sixth Chamber, order of 30 June 2026, no. 5167: a constitutionality question on the disapplication of the 90-day time limit under Article 14 of Law 689/1981, imposed by the Court of Justice.

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Decision of the week · Procurement

Bid in euros instead of a percentage discount: exclusion upheld

Council of State, Fifth Chamber, judgment of 12 June 2026, no. 4753: clear tender clauses apply to the letter, procedural assistance cannot amend the bid, and the result principle does not override the lex specialis.

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Decision of the week · Landscape

Cultural heritage omitted from the landscape report: authorisation annulled

Council of State, Sixth Chamber, judgment of 12 June 2026, no. 4729: the report must represent the entire context, including nearby cultural heritage. With notes on associations’ standing and time limits.

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Decision of the week · Public procurement · 13 July 2026

The RUP's note is a refusal: 60 days to challenge

Where the project manager's reply denies price compensation, it is a decision in its own right: the time limit runs from that note, not from a later act.

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