Italian Court of Cassation limits legal expense compensation

The Italian Court of Cassation has established strict limits on the practice of legal expense compensation to protect the right of defense. The court ruled that judges cannot use generic or vague formulas to justify splitting legal costs between parties without providing explicit, logical, and detailed reasoning.

Specifically, a judge may not justify the distribution of costs simply by citing the nature of the dispute or the modest economic value of the case. The ruling emphasizes that if the legal costs incurred by a prevailing party exceed the actual value of the benefit obtained from the judgment, it constitutes a violation of constitutional rights.

This decision aims to prevent legal victories from becoming economic losses, ensuring that the judicial system does not become a privilege reserved only for those who can afford the risk of disproportionate litigation costs.