L’efficacia dei provvedimenti dell’AGCM a tutela dei consumatori nei giudizi civili dopo l’attuazione della direttiva Omnibus

This essay examines the measures employed by the Italian Competition and Markets Authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del\r\nMercato or AGCM) to protect consumers’ interests, with a specific focus\r\non the civil remedies available to individuals whose rights have been\r\ninfringed by business entities. The area has recently been refined by\r\nLegislative Decree no. 26 of 2023, which implements the so-called Omnibus Directive. The author argues that enhancing consumer protection primarily requires the establishment of an integrated model of\r\npublic and private enforcement, similar to frameworks long explored\r\nwithin Antitrust regulation. This approach aims to facilitate the exercise of judicial protection — the so-called “follow-on actions” — not as\r\nan “intrusion” into a system designed to safeguard competition in the\r\npublic sphere, but rather as a constructive reinforcement of a structure\r\nthat would otherwise rely solely on the deterrent effects of sanctions and\r\nother measures enacted in the public interest. However, even after the\r\nenactment of Legislative Decree no. 26 of 2023, it is evident that the\r\nItalian Legislator’s interventions aimed at coordinating administrative\r\nand judicial protection remain quite limited. The article particularly\r\ninvestigates the potential for alignment in the application of general\r\nprinciples regarding evidence as they pertain to the measures of the\r\nAGCM, analysing pertinent case law and contributing to the ongoing\r\ndebate in legal scholarship surrounding this topic.