Description
Normative references
Law No. 689 of 24 November 1981 - Royal Decree No. 773 of 18 June 1931
In certain matters, current legislation provides for the application of administrative penalties against those who violate certain legal requirements. The general provisions for the ascertainment of administrative violations and the application of the relevant sanctions are contained in Sections I and II of Chapter I of Law No. 689 of 24 November 1981 (except for violations relating to road traffic, municipal and provincial regulations and building matters).
As regards, in particular, administrative breaches of the rules of Royal Decree no. 773 of 18 June 1931, the general rules laid down by Law 689/81 must be supplemented with the sanctioning rules introduced by Articles 17/bis to 17/sexies and by Article 221/bis of the Consolidation Act itself, introduced by Article 3 of Legislative Decree no. 480 of 13 July 1994.
Stages of the proceedings under Law 689/81
Establishment of the offence
This phase is aimed at the acquisition, by the ascertaining bodies, of all those elements from which the existence of the administrative offence is deduced. This ascertainment concludes with the drawing up of a report.
Contestation and notification
The offence is contested immediately, as far as possible, both to the offender and to any jointly and severally liable parties. If such an immediate contestation is not possible, the report is served on all the persons concerned within 90 days of the completed assessment (or within 360 days for residents abroad).
Reduced payment
To the citizen (offender or jointly and severally liable) who receives a notification for having committed an administrative offence, the law allows two possibilities
extinguish the proceedings by making the so-called 'reduced payment' within the peremptory term of 60 days from the date of the notification or service of the report. Article 16 of Law 689/81 provides for the payment of a sum equal to the third part of the maximum penalty provided for or, if more favourable, equal to double the minimum of the edict penalty;
or submit, within 30 days, from the date of contestation or notification, defensive writs (on unstamped paper) and/or request to be heard by the competent authority.
Report
In the event that the persons concerned have failed to make the final payment referred to in point c), the assessing body must report to the competent administrative authority.
Order of dismissal or injunction
The competent authority, after a careful examination of the merits and legitimacy of any defensive writings submitted or of the elements that emerged during the hearing, issues an order which may be either to dismiss the case if it does not consider the assessment to be well founded, or to issue an injunction if it considers it to be well founded; in such cases it fixes the amount of the aforesaid sanction between the minimum and maximum limits provided for by law.
Opposition
Opposition to the injunction order may be lodged with the Justice of the Peace of the place where the infringement was ascertained, within 30 days of the notification of the order (or within 60 days for residents abroad).
Enforcement
Once the time limit set for payment of the ordered sum has expired unsuccessfully, the administrative authority that issued the order-injunction ensures that this sum is collected compulsorily by drawing up a register.