Commission v. Italy

In the Italian Republic (Italy) (defendant), lawyers were regulated under the Royal Decree Law, which provided a legal framework for regulations but also left many decisions up to the National Council of Lawyers, an elected and representative group of member lawyers. The Royal Decree Law set criteria for attorney’s fees, including minimum and maximum fees based on the type of case, complexity, length of representation, and other factors. The fee minimums and maximums could only be avoided by the signing of a contract between a lawyer and client, or by a court’s permission if a case was extraordinarily complex or lengthy. In 2006, Italy passed a law that abolished the fee minimums to the extent that they prohibited contingent-fee arrangements, but it expressly maintained fee maximums. As a European Union member state, Italy was subject to rules set forth in various treaties signed by the member states. Italy’s rules for attorney’s fees applied to all lawyers providing legal services in Italy. The Commission of the European Communities (commission) (plaintiff) concluded that Italy’s legal framework for attorney’s fees violated Articles 43 and 49 of the Treaty of Rome, which protected the freedom of professionals from any of the member states to establish and provide professional services in any other member state. After communications between the commission and Italy failed to reach an amicable resolution, the commission petitioned the European Union Court of Justice to enforce the treaty provisions.