Published on 12 December 2022

FIRST SECTION

Application no. 23972/22 Maria Assunta BRUNO and Others against Italy lodged on 2 May 2022 communicated on 21 November 2022

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The application concerns the application of retrospective legislation, specifically Article 1 § 218 of Law no. 266/2005 of 23 December 2005 to pending national proceedings involving the applicants.

The applicants were employed by the local government authorities. When they were transferred, under Article 8 of Law no. 124/1999, to work for the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, their length of service with the local government authorities was not fully recognised for financial and legal purposes. The applicants lodged proceedings before the Caltanissetta District Court arguing that the conversion of their salary into a notional length of service with the new employer upon transfer had been unlawful and detrimental to them. They sought placement in the professional grade corresponding to their full length of service from the date of the transfer as well as the determination of any compensation due to them.

When those proceedings were pending before the Caltanissetta Court of Appeal, Article 1 § 218 of Law no. 266/2005 of 23 December 2005 entered into force. This provision intended to give effect to what the legislator claimed to be the original intention of the Parliament when adopting Article 8 of Law no. 124/1999. Relying on that interpretative law, the domestic court dismissed the applicants’ claims.

The applicants challenged the judgments before the Court of Cassation. In the course of the proceedings, following the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 6 September 2011 in Scattolon , C-108/10, the Court of Cassation remitted the case to the Catania Court of Appeal for determination of whether the transferred employees had suffered a substantial loss of salary solely as a result of the transfer. The Catania Court of Appeal ruled that the applicants had not suffered a substantial loss of salary. The applicants appealed against this judgment and the Court of Cassation upheld the Court of Appeal’s findings and conclusions.

The applicants complain under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention about the legislative interference pending the proceedings which, in their view, infringed their right to a fair trial. They also complain under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention that the retroactive application of Article 1 § 218 of Law no. 266/2005 of 23 December 2005 deprived them of their property insofar as this provision put an end to the dispute between them and the administration.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

1. Did the applicants have a fair hearing in the determination of their civil rights and obligations, in accordance with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention?

In particular, was there an interference by the legislature with the administration of justice designed to influence the judicial determination of a dispute on account of the retrospective application to their case of Article 1 § 218 of Law no. 266/2005 (see Agrati and Others v. Italy , nos. 43549/08 and 2 others, 7 June 2011, and Cicero and Others v. Italy , nos. 29483/11 and 4 others, 30 January 2020)?

If so, was that interference based on compelling grounds of general interest?

2. Has there been an interference with the applicants’ peaceful enjoyment of their possessions, within the meaning of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, considering the enactment of Article 1 § 218 of Law no. 266/2005?

If so, did the interference impose an excessive individual burden on the applicants?

3. The applicants are invited to submit a declaration concerning the status of enforcement of the domestic judgments on the merit in their regard. If a domestic judgment has been enforced in their regard, the applicants are invited to include in the declaration the following information: the number, the R.G. and the date of the judgment in their favour, the sums received, and possibly the sums subsequently recovered by the administration. The applicants are invited to provide all the relevant documents concerning the enforcement of the judgments and, where applicable, the recovery of the sums.

APPENDIX

No.

Applicant’s Name

Year of birth

Place

of residence

Proceedings

1.Maria Assunta BRUNO

1957Caltanissetta

R.G. 1283/02,

25/06/2003

R.G. 443/03,

29/07/2005

R.G. 19005/06 – 23052/06,

14/11/2012

R.G. 109/13,

13/04/2017

R.G. 25075/17,

02/11/2021

2.Sebastiano ANZALDO

1953Butera

3.Household

Angelo Diego Giorgio BUFALINO

Salvatore BUFALINO (heirs of Nicoló BUFALINO)

1966Caltanissetta

1973Bagheria

4.Santo Domenico DI BELLA

1968Santa Caterina Villarmosa

5.Angelo Antonio DI BENEDETTO

1965Caltanissetta

6.Giuseppe DI FORTI

1961Caltanissetta

7.Michele DONZELLA

1955Caltanissetta

8.Francesca FERRARA

1959Caltanissetta

9.Salvatore IPPOLITO

1957Caltanissetta

10.Vincenzo LA TONA

1955San Cataldo

11.Salvatore MANGIONE

1940San Cataldo

12.Gaetano MARAZZOTTA

1956Riesi

13.Antonia MILAZZO

1951Caltanissetta

14.Carminella MISTRETTA

1945Caltanissetta

15.Giuseppe PAGLIARO

1946Caltanissetta

16.Bartolo RIGGI

1955Caltanissetta

17.Concetta Lidia RUSSELLO

1959San Cataldo

18.Rosario RUSSOTTO

1954Caltanissetta

19.Domenico SARDO

1961San Cataldo

20.Massimo TAGLIALAVORE

1940Caltanissetta

21.Michela TERRITO

1955Caltanissetta

22.Concetta TORREGROSSA

1959San Cataldo