Fee schedule not a violation.

• Position: Minimum fees for legal services - Italy

In the other case, In re Arduino, Case C-35/99, also decided February 19, the European Court of Justice declined to invalidate the Italian procedure that permits Italian lawyers, with the approval of the government, to set minimum fees for legal services. The procedure does not offend EC competition law as embodied in Article 85 of the EC Treaty, the court held.

Under Italian law, the Consiglio Nazionale Forense (National Council of the Bar) is authorized every two years to set a schedule of maximum and minimum fees, with some provisions for departures from the tariffs in exceptional circumstances. Fees are to be based on the monetary value of disputes, the level of the court in which services are performed, and in criminal matters the duration of the proceedings. The schedule must be approved by the Minister of Justice after consultation with the Comitato Interministeriale dei Prezzi (Interministerial Committee on Prices) and the Consiglio di Stato (Council of State).

The dispute in this case arose in connection with the settlement of costs in criminal proceedings involving a road accident when a magistrate declined to apply the fee schedule. The Corte...