The length of legal disputes and the decision to appeal in Italian courts

Abstract: Gravelle shows that delay in legal process causes the costs of justice increase and reduces the demand for justice. In this work we test Gravelle’s argument for Italy by analysing the relationship between the number of new appeals and the average delay in the corresponding disputes at first instance. The results do not contradict Gravelle’s argument with respect to labour disputes and ordinary disputes that fall within the jurisdiction of the Courts of Appeal. Conversely, we found no significant correlation with respect to appeals in ordinary disputes falling within the jurisdiction of the Courts of Law (against the decision of a Peace Officer) and a not clear effect for social welfare disputes.