The Italian Legal System and the Possible Implications of the Belgian Constitutional Court's Rulings on the Administrative Loop

The paper examines the possible implications of the ruling of the Belgian Constitutional Court on the Italian legal system. Even if the Italian judicial system does not have any provision similar to the Belgian administrative loop, the Belgian rulings can impact the ongoing Italian debate on judicial effectiveness and efficiency on three different issues. Firstly, concerning the formal obligation of administrative authorities to state reasons in their decisions and the consequences of the absence of such reasons. Secondly, the Belgian Court’s rulings provide insight on the so-called “self-annulment” power of the Italian administrative authorities. Finally, the Court discusses the principle of separation of powers and its implications on limiting the judges’ case-management power in the final settlement of a pending lawsuit. At present, the introduction of ADR mechanisms in administrative courts is of significant interest to Italian judicial policy. The Belgian rulings reiterate the requirements that must never be avoided in any dispute settlement procedure