Cassazione civile, III sezione, 17 maggio 2011, n. 10813

In Francovich judgement the European Court of justice has stated that "a State must be liable for loss and damage caused to individuals as a result of breaches of Community law". The ECJ didn’t say however which kind of liability it should have been. The Italian Corte di cassazione first choose the way of liability in tort but after some years overruled itself and opted for liability in contract. In the author’s view this second scheme of responsibility offers an adequate framework for State’s liability according to the idea that breach of contract regards not only non-performance but also violation of duties generated by good faith.