For the November issue of the Assagenti Newsletter, the contribution by Attorney Francesca Barisione on the limitation of shipowners’ liability focuses on the main practical difficulties in applying the institute in Italy, starting with the well known gaps affecting the legislation applicable to Italian vessels with a gross tonnage equal to or greater than 300 tons. These gaps stem from the failure to formally ratify the 1976 London Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, adopted by the IMO, as amended by the 1996 Protocol (LLMC 1996), given that Legislative Decree No. 111/2012 was limited to implementing Directive 2009/20/EC on shipowners’ insurance for maritime claims (for amounts at least equal to the limits set out in the LLMC 1996).
The contribution also examines Judgment No. 25290/2025 of the Italian Supreme Court, which ruled on the regime provided for by the Navigation Code (Articles 275 et seq.), governing the limitation of shipowners’ liability for Italian vessels with a gross tonnage of less than 300 tons. The Court rejected the constitutional legitimacy challenge to Articles 275 and 276 of the Navigation Code in relation to Articles 2, 3 and 32 of the Constitution, stating that, in its view, the codified regime ensures a fair balance between the opposing interests of injured parties in obtaining compensation, on the one hand, and the economic continuity of maritime activity, regarded as essential, on the other.
