PROCEDURAL UPDATE | Cartabia civil-justice reform effective 28 February 2023
At the end of February 2023, significant parts of the Cartabia civil-procedure reform became effective earlier than originally expected. The reform also affected the procedural environment in which employment claims are managed.
Employment litigation retained its specialist features, but the broader reform altered appeals, enforcement, digital filing and the relationship between different procedural routes. It also continued the movement away from the separate Fornero dismissal procedure towards a more unified labour process.
For international employers, the principal operational lesson is that an Italian dispute cannot be reconstructed safely from scattered emails after proceedings start. Witnesses, investigation documents, payroll records and the reasons for a dismissal must be identifiable and preserved when the decision is taken.
HR and legal teams should issue a litigation hold promptly, maintain a chronological case file and involve local counsel before the dismissal letter or formal response fixes the employer’s position. Procedural reform rewards early organisation rather than later document collection.