On May 19, 2021, the reform of the Italian legal framework on
class actions finally entered into force. The new rules, designed
by Law n. 31 and published on April 18, 2019, (Law n. 31/2019),
were initially intended to become effective on April 19, 2020, but
had been delayed twice.
The new rules on class actions are now included in the Italian
Civil Procedure Code (ICPC) and no longer in the Code of
Consumers.
The reform introduces new substantive and procedural rules aimed
at broadening the scope of application of class actions in Italy
and making class actions more user-friendly and effective.
Extension of the scope of application
The first change affects the scope of the rules on class
actions. While in the previous legal framework the class action
procedure was expressly aimed at protecting the individual
homogeneous rights and collective interests of
"consumers" and "users" only, the new
provisions remove any particular reference to the addressee of
