The americanization of the Italian civil proceedings?

While the pandemic was winding down, European countries received substantial funds from the E.U. government to address the increasing economic distress caused by the lockdown period. Consequently, the former Italian government devised an ambitious plan that regards civil justice reform as a strategic tool for gradually obtaining financial resources from the E.U. The approved reform encompasses various aspects, including the renewed framework of the civil proceeding and specific attention to A.D.R., like negotiation or mediation. Considering the core elements of this recent reform, one might question whether the new Italian civil proceeding resembles fundamental aspects of the U.S. civil process, despite historical divergences stemming from the inquisitorial and adversarial models of justice. This notion delineates the basis of the article’s title, which seeks to explore a two-fold comparison. Firstly, the article aims to elucidate how several key elements of the reform in civil proceedings mirror certain foundational aspects and cornerstones of the U.S. pretrial phase, as provided at Federal Level. It endeavors to provide a technical explanation of this comparison, while carefully emphasizing that it does not entail a mere formal transplantation of rules, but rather a shared commonality in the framework and available decision-making tools (such as summary judgment, motion to dismiss, and judicially-led settlement). To this effect, a new semi-global model of civil justice is emerging spontaneously. Secondly, the article aspires to undertake a broader comparative analysis, capitalizing on the growing criticism of the U.S. civil justice system. It intends to caution both systems to improve their future interpretation and application of their rules

In Praise of Reconciliation: the In-Court Settlement as a Global Outreach for Appropriate Dispute Resolution

A sense of crisis in the administration of civil justice is widespread. Whether the typical difficulties faced by many countries unfold in excessive costs and delays, they have stark implications for the effectiveness of the procedural systems and access to justice. Several new institutions evolved to deal with this state of crisis. Amongst them, the judicially-led settlement, which has the peculiarity of being an alternative tool, despite being performed in the courtroom, made inroads worldwide. However, the pro-adjudication rhetoric raised and continue to raise severe qualms of parties’ coercion and judicial partiality resulting from the judge’s dual role as conciliator and decider. This Article deals with the matter by aiming for a triple result. First, it is intended to show how the general trend toward in-court settlement highlights the urgency of embodying a new philosophy of distributive justice in civil procedure at a global level. To this effect, rather than securing only substantive justice, the justice systems need to be devoted to dealing with cases justly, equally, and proportionally. Secondly, it will show how advocating settlement does not necessarily mean an efficiency-based claim. On the contrary, it represents a plea for “justice” by resulting in quality-oriented outcomes. Lastly, drawing from the repository of the Continental European civil procedure rules, it will sketch the proper tools to prevent the judges’ promotion of settlement from flowing into an indirectly forced settlement and negatively impacting their impartiality. The relevant outcomes will show how judicially-led settlement represents, at a global level, a form of appropriate (rather than alternative) dispute resolution method

In praise of reconciliation: the in-court settlement as a global outreach for appropriate dispute resolution

A sense of crisis in the administration of civil justice is widespread. Whether the typical difficulties faced by many countries unfold in excessive costs and delays, they have stark implications for the effectiveness of the procedural systems and ac- cess to justice. Several new institutions evolved to deal with this state of crisis. Amongst them, the judicially-led settlement, which has the peculiarity of being an alternative tool, despite being performed in the courtroom, made inroads world- wide. However, the pro-adjudication rhetoric raised and continue to raise severe qualms of parties’ coercion and judicial partiality resulting from the judge’s dual role as conciliator and decider. This Article deals with the matter by aiming for a triple result. First, it is intended to show how the general trend toward in-court settlement highlights the urgency of embodying a new philosophy of distributive justice in civil procedure at a global level. To this effect, rather than securing only substantive justice, the justice systems need to be devoted to dealing with cases justly, equally, and proportionally. Secondly, it will show how advocating settle- ment does not necessarily mean an efficiency-based claim. On the contrary, it rep- resents a plea for “justice” by resulting in quality-oriented outcomes. Lastly, draw- ing from the repository of the Continental European civil procedure rules, it will sketch the proper tools to prevent the judges’ promotion of settlement from flowing into an indirectly forced settlement and negatively impacting their impartiality. The relevant outcomes will show how judicially-led settlement represents, at a global level, a form of appropriate (rather than alternative) dispute resolution method

Reducing Disparities in Civil Procedure Systems: Towards a Global Semi-Adversarial Model

It is commonly perceived that the main difference between adversarial and non-adversarial systems of civil procedure is the party charged with the duty to gather facts and evidence. Generally speaking, in adversarial systems, it is the lawyers who gather facts and collect evidence while in non-adversarial systems, like continental Europe, it is the judges who bear that responsibility. Although this dichotomy exists, it is fundamentally flawed to conclude that the non-adversarial systems, such as the Continental ones, differ from the American system because of the inquisitorial method both in fact-gathering and evidence-gathering. The real differences, as we will demonstrate, are mainly the parties’ roles in the preliminary phase of the lawsuit, the methods of discovery, the judge’s involvement in the case, and the techniques for examining non-documentary evidence. Both systems present advantages and drawbacks regarding efficiency (cost-saving) and efficacy (truth-finding) in the administration of justice. Suppose the procedural divergence is not entirely irreconcilable. Can they complement each other? In this respect, we specifically ask if an adversary system can help the most troubling aspects of non-adversary practices. If so, is it possible to reconcile the non-adversarial model with a preliminary phase typical in adjudication in the adversarial system? The recent Italian reform on civil procedure allows us to shed light on these questions. This more adversarial proceeding emerging from new Continental trends might seem particularly exciting for two reasons. Firstly, it introduces a stimulating new framework to reshape the debates about civil justice reform in an adversary system. Secondly, it suggests a new way of thinking about traditional domestic and country-specific rules and outlines a unified model of a semi-adversarial system

Relationship between rhinitis duration and worsening of nasal function

While it is well known that asthma is characterized by airway remodeling, few studies instead have investigated this issue in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR)

Impact of allergic rhinitis on asthma: effects on bronchodilation testing

A remarkable relationship exists between the upper and lower airways. Bronchial obstruction is a paramount feature of asthma, and its reversibility is considered a main step in asthma diagnosis

Ameliorating a Complex Urban Ecosystem Through Instrumental Use of Softscape Buffers: Proposal for a Green Infrastructure Network in the Metropolitan Area of Naples

Green Infrastructure (GI) definition, deriving from the United States green infrastructure for hydro-geological rebalancing through imitating the nature stormwater management, was consolidated in Europe by GI Planning Guide. Nowadays GI can be considered a valid and meaningful approach for ameliorating urban complex ecosystems, and could also be considered as mitigation action of land consumption, according to the guidelines on the soil sealing of the European Commission (2012). The metropolitan area of Naples located in south Italy is characterized by an unauthorized and chaotic urban development. The land-use map reported an average of 30% of urbanization in the metropolitan area, rising up to 50–60% and as high as 98% in the north core area of the city. This high level of urbanization is directly related to the habitat fragmentation. The National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy defines several challenges and targets to counteract the biodiversity loss in Italy, identifying urban areas as places exposed to the greatest pressures on ecosystems. Therefore, the integration of different policies limiting habitat fragmentation, heat island effect and natural soil hydro-geological degradation into spatial planning, especially through green corridors and ecosystem enhancement in urban areas is an urgent need for the society. Spatial planning has to be renewed in metropolitan areas, where threats and weaknesses to biodiversity conservation are stronger than in any other place, according to the Law n. 56/2014, (Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana, 2014) committing metropolitan cities to the enactment of General Territorial Plan. In the current paper, we aim at designing an ecological network for the metropolitan area of Naples one of the biggest city of southern Italy. The analyses include the adopted methodological procedure, i.e., ecological network analysis and design, and the introductory elements of a spatial analysis on a pilot ecological network of several patches. Finally, the paper illustrates the network analysis conceived as a monitoring system and also in future perspective, as a planning support system

A Review on the Antimicrobial Activity of Schiff Bases: Data Collection and Recent Studies

Schiff bases (SBs) have extensive applications in different fields such as analytical, inor‐ ganic and organic chemistry. They are used as dyes, catalysts, polymer stabilizers, luminescence chemosensors, catalyzers in the fixation of CO2 biolubricant additives and have been suggested for solar energy applications as well. Further, a wide range of pharmacological and biological applica‐ tions, such as antimalarial, antiproliferative, analgesic, anti‐inflammatory, antiviral, antipyretic, an‐ tibacterial and antifungal uses, emphasize the need for SB synthesis. Several SBs conjugated with chitosan have been studied in order to enhance the antibacterial activity of chitosan. Moreover, the use of the nanoparticles of SBs may improve their antimicrobial effects. Herein, we provide an ana‐ lytical overview of the antibacterial and antifungal properties of SBs and chitosan‐based SBs as well as SBs‐functionalized nanoparticles. The most relevant and recent literature was reviewed for this purpose

Changes in Morpho-Anatomical and Eco-Physiological Responses of Viburnum tinus L. var lucidum as Modulated by Sodium Chloride and Calcium Chloride Salinization

Salinity in water and soil is among the major constraints to the cultivation of ornamental crops since it can affect their growth and aesthetic value. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to assess whether the application of two different salts (80mM NaCl or 53.3mM CaCl2, with a final ionic concentration of 160 mM) could differently modulate the anatomical and physiological acclimation of an important ornamental species such as Viburnum tinus L. var. lucidum. Eco-physiological analyses (e.g., leaf gas exchange and chlorophyll a fluorescence emission) were performed and leaves were subjected to light microscopy analysis to quantify functional anatomical traits through digital image analysis. Results showed that the two iso-osmotic solutions induced different structuremediated physiological alterations in V. tinus plants. Photosynthesis was lowered by CaCl2 treatments (-58%) more than by NaCl (-37%), also due to the occurrence of photodamage apart from stomatal limitations. Neither Na+ nor Cl- exhibited toxic effects in leaf lamina structure which was reflected in the limited reduction in dry matter accumulation. Overall data were interpreted focusing on the coordination among leaf structural and functional traits suggesting that the fine control of functional anatomical traits contributes to physiological acclimation to both stressful condition

Effect of water salinity and osmolytes application on growth and ornamental value of Viburnum lucidum L

The scarcity of good quality water frequently led to the use of saline water for the irrigation of ornamental shrubs. Therefore, their salt tolerance needs to be investigated, along with the possibility to counteract the effect of salinity exposure on plant growth and ornamental quality, possibly due to reduced growth, and nutritional imbalances. Under salt stress conditions, plants can activate mechanisms helping to withstand it, such as the production of several organic solutes that play a role in the osmotic adjustment. Aiming to this extent the exogenous application of osmolytes, such as glycine betaine (GB) and L-proline (L-P), has been tested on potted plants of Viburnum lucidum L. grown under saline irrigation. The experiment was designed as a factorial combination of two nutrient solutions (non-salt control, or 200 mM NaCl) and three osmoprotectant treatments (untreated, GB 2.5 mM, or L-P 5 mM application). Shoot and root biomass were negatively affected by salinity (-37 and -29%, respectively), but not the shoot/root ratio. A significant and positive effect of osmolytes application was found on the shoot biomass of plants treated with GB (+46%). Lateral sprouting total length per plant was also reduced by saline irrigation (-60%), but the GB application resulted in a significant increase (+102%). A positive effect of GB application was also found on the total leaf area (LA) per plant that was increased by 182% under saline conditions. Root/shoot ratio did not change with salinity. L-P application resulted in a significant increase of both shoot and root biomass per unit of LA (+40 and +85%, respectively) in comparison with the untreated control and GB