Abusi "contrattuali" tra imprese: per una rilettura dell'art. 9 della legge sulla subfornitura industriale

The paper explores the possibilities of the provision on abuse of economic dependence ex art. 9, Law no. 192/1998, as a key norm of the Italian legal system, to regulate business-to-business unfair contracts terms. This endeavour encounters an obstacle in an overly restrictive interpretation of the assumption of economic dependence, which makes it almost impossible to prohibit a priori unfair contract terms. The author then proposes an evolutionary interpretation of the notion of dependence, broader than the current one, which can also protect companies that, in the absence of alternatives on the market, are forced to accept clauses that they would not otherwise have accepted, thanks also to greater interaction between public and private enforcement.