Practice area

Maritime state property concessions

Beach establishments, marinas, moorings, shore areas: every business on Italy’s maritime state property lives on a concession, and the concession lives on rules in constant motion, between the Navigation Code, the Services Directive and ongoing reforms. The firm assists concession holders, applicants and third parties at every stage.

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What we do

The life of the title

Award and renewal: applications, competing expressions of interest, comparative and public procedures after Directive 2006/123/EC and the case law on extensions.
Extensions and variations: changes to the concession, works on state property, related landscape authorisations, including in protected and archaeological areas.
Forfeiture, revocation and transfer: challenges by the administration, defence of the title, business transfers.
Concession fees: assessment, updates and related litigation.

Litigation

Before every court

Challenges before the TAR, the Council of State and the Sicilian CGA against refusals, comparative procedure outcomes, forfeitures and Port Authority measures.
Extraordinary petitions, where convenient.
Third-party protection: third-party opposition and the defence of counter-interested parties.
Dealings with public bodies: Port Authorities, the Region, harbour offices and municipalities, within and outside conferences of services.

The firm regularly publishes commentary on the most recent decisions of the Sicilian administrative courts in this field: see the Insights section.

Why the firm

A field of intersections

Maritime concessions live at the crossroads of administrative law, EU competition law, landscape protection and port planning: litigation is won by mastering all these planes together. The firm combines litigation practice before the TAR and the CGA with constant study of the field, on a coastline where maritime state property is everyday economy.