Italy was one of the first European countries to be affected by coronavirus, and one of the first countries to impose severe lockdown restrictions on its citizens.
Currently, anyone living in Italy is forbidden from leaving their homes and the cities they live in without a justified reason. They can travel for work purposes, but only if this is urgently necessary and cannot be delayed. Most offices, public offices, authorities and courts are closed to the public.
So, what are the legal and procedural implications of coronavirus in Italy? Here, I examine the current legal situation, what can be done and what can’t be done, and how we can help you progress matters during these difficult, uncertain times.
Most matters require the physical presence of an individual in order to progress them. Understandably, these will be stalled for an indefinite period. However, in recent years, Italy has introduced obligatory online procedures to replace previous paper methods (for example the online presentation of tax returns, court pleadings and the transfer of property ownership). Accordingly, some matters will be able to progress despite the emergency. Going forward, we expect increased opportunities to complete more, if not all, matters virtually. This could be done, for example, by using digital signatures for most contracts and perhaps even Notarial Deeds.
Most importantly, however, even if delays are experienced, it is important to remember that the health and safety of friends, family and colleagues is of utmost importance. Even if your matter cannot be completed now, there will be a time when it will.
Whilst our advice is based on current legislation and our experience, the situation continues to evolve and things may change significantly over the coming weeks and months. We are constantly monitoring developments and the impact on legislation in Italy, liaising with our colleagues and other professionals in the country, in order to provide the most up to date assistance.
House purchases and sales
If you are in the initial stages of the conveyancing process in Italy, you may wish to halt all negotiations until the emergency, as well as the currency fluctuations it has caused, recedes.
If you decide to proceed with making a formal offer to purchase a property, or accept an offer for your property, it’s still possible to do so. Any offer can be signed by both parties and exchanged, by email and the use of couriers. It’s extremely important, especially in these circumstances, to review what is being promised and to ensure that the deadines can be met (something that is impossible to predict at the moment).
If you have a completion date set, then it is still possible for a Deed of Sale to be signed and for the sale to go ahead.
A Notary is a Public Official in Italy, and therefore is legally obligated to continue to render services to the public, regardless of any national emergency, such as COVID-19.
In theory, this means that they can execute Notarial Deeds such as Deeds of Sale, but only if all the necessary precautions are taken.
An issue arises where one or all of the parties live in a different city from where the Notary’s office is located. In these cases, travel and attendance to another city is allowed only when the Deed is urgent and its execution cannot be delayed. It’s important to provide evidence of this is the case, as travelling without just cause risks the individual facing criminal charges, as well as a fine.
Accordingly, if you’ve signed a preliminary contract containing a completion date which falls during this period, it may be possible to argue that the completion is urgent and that the execution of the Deed of Sale cannot be delayed. However, it’s still unclear whether this would constitute an emergency. If in doubt, and given the extreme circumstances, it’s best to delay completion. It’s highly likely that both buyer and seller will agree to extend the completion date contained in the preliminary contract.
Another solution to avoid delaying completion would be to sign a Power of Attorney authorising someone who is local to the Notary to sign the Deed on the seller or buyer’s behalf.
If completion does occur, there may be some delays in the registration of the Deed of Sale and transfer of the property into the new owner’s name (although most of this is now done through online systems in Italy so should not be affected).
Estate Administration
The Declaration of Succession, i.e. the Tax Declaration that describes the assets of the deceased, its values and who the beneficiaries/legatees, must be lodged with the Agenzia delle Entrate (the Italian Tax Agency) within one year of the death of the individual.
As the Declaration is now lodged to the Agenzia delle Enrate online, we do not envisage that there will be any delays in submitting these documents. Currently, the Italian Tax Agency is still working and responding to Declarations being lodged.
There may be some issues with regard to the documents that must be attached to this declaration. For example, a UK Will must have an Apostille attached to it, be translated into Italian and the translation sworn in Court, as well as be published by a Notary Public by Deed in Italy. Whilst a Notary in Italy can publish the foreign Will by Notarial Deed, the Foreign Office is currently not legalising documents and translations cannot be sworn, aside for urgent matters.
Whilst the transfer of immoveable properties into the beneficiaries’ names may not be an issue, due to ability to process them electronically, the situation concerning Italian banks presents the biggest problem. Banks are now closed to the public and will only see customers with an appointment. Employees’ working hours have been greatly reduced and they will, where possible, work from home. Replies to queries related to a succession will most likely be even more delayed than usual. Consequently, it may not be possible to fix an appointment in order to close any accounts and liquidate assets, nor sell any shares, which comprise the Estate.
Wills
The ability to execute a Will to cover your Italian assets remains affected by the current situation.
If you live in Italy and wish for a Notary to prepare your Will, they can assist you. Alternatively, you can write a holographic Will at home. Finally, you can execute an English-style Will to cover your Italian assets only, or to include your Italian assets in an English Will.
However, should you choose to proceed, it’s vital to obtain legal advice with regard to your Italian assets so that your intended beneficiaries will be left with your assets.
Court proceedings in Italy
All civil hearings, unless they are of an urgent nature (such as for cases regarding children), are currently adjourned until after 15 April 2020. Any legal deadlines, such as for the presentations of pleadings, will be suspended until then.
Some cases, such as those in criminal proceedings, are being held via video conference.
Currently, only proceedings that can be lodged online will be accepted (which is a system that has already been working very well in Italy for some years), unless they are:
- proceedings of an urgent nature
- cases involving the protection of the vulnerable
- case where significant prejudice would suffered with any delays in the presentation of the same.
Unfortunately, this means that, even when the courts re-open as normal to hearings, there will be a backlog of cases which will inevitably cause even more substantial delays to proceedings in the future.
The ability to swear translations or professional reports in Court is also currently not possible, unless this is for urgent matters. The urgency of the matter must be explained, by way of declaration, and proven.
Citizenship Applications
If the Citizenship Application form is ready, as well as all the documents to be attached, then the application can be lodged online, as per usual. The Consulate has currently frozen all appointments, so there will be delays in receiving a “K” number and a date for a meeting.
The London Consulate is also currently closed to the public, except for reasons of emergency. Anyone who had an appointment already fixed during this period is being contacted by the Consulate in order to fix another date.
There will also be setbacks with regard to the collection of the documents that must be attached to the application. For example, it will be unlikely at the moment that we will be able to obtain criminal certificates from various countries, have these legalised and swear the translations at any Consulate in the world, or an Italian court.
If you need further information please don’t hesitate to contact us.
