A recent landmark decision of the Court of Cassation (Cass.
29810/2017 of 12th December 2017) came into the limelight for its
application on the competition law implemented on 12th December
2017. The legal background of this decision dated back to
2003, when the Bank of Italy initiated an investigation
relating to the model contract for unlimited suretyship
("fideiussione
omnibus") prescribed by the
Associazione Bancaria Italiana (Italian Banking Association
hereinafter referred as the "ABI") for the use of its
members. The Bank of Italy held that the adoption of the
said model contract by the members of ABI could result in a
violation of domestic regulations with regards on competition, and
thus, subsequently sought for an advisory opinion of the Italian
Authority for Competition and the Market ("AGCM") on the
matter. The AGCM upheld the decision of the Bank of Italy, stating
that the use of the model contract prescribed by the ABI and
applied by the members of ABI
