Punitive Damages in Italy

Taking into account the trajectory the institute of civil liability has gone through in the last decades under Italian law, with its seminal decision n. 16601 of 2017, the Italian Supreme Court ruled that foreign punitive damages judgments can be recognized and enforced in Italy, provided they comply with the legality and proportionality principles. This contribution analyses the meaning of these requirements and indicates how they should be implemented to be consistent with the general rules governing the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. It then examines whether the legality and proportionality principles can be used as conditions for the application of foreign punitive damages laws referred to by conflict of law rules by Italian courts and the implications deriving therefrom.