Notariat: Criminal Justice Project Proposes Reforms on European Bankruptcies

On Wednesday 13 June, at the Notarial Council of Rome’s Auditorium, a convention took place on the subject: “Practical applications of national and EU laws regarding crimes linked to bankruptcy proceedings and the administration of assets confiscated from organised crime”, the second Italian seminar of the Italian Notarial Foundation’s Criminal Justice Project, co-financed by the EU, for the European training of magistrates, notaries and lawyers on the criminal implications of business and corporate bankruptcies in Europe and the problems associated with sequestration and confiscation of Mafia assets in EU countries.

Experts including representatives from Austria, Croatia and Slovenia and members of the Guardia di Finanza (Italian fiscal police) examined the implications of EU Regulation 1346/2000 on bankruptcies, the reform of which is under discussion with the EU’s Directorate General for Justice, and the recent Anti-Mafia Code with regard to Eurojust activities.

Many subjects were raised and proposals for new national and EU laws were made during the debate which involved, amongst others, Nello Rossi, Deputy Public Prosecutor of Rome, Gaetano Cappellano Seminara, a lawyer from Palermo who has over 20 years’ experience in the judicial administration of assets confiscated from the Mafia, Pier Luigi dell’Osso, Substitute National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor and Nino Amadore, a journalist who wrote the book “La zona grigia. Professionisti al servizio della mafia” [The Grey Area. Professionals Serving the Mafia]. Particular emphasis was laid on the need for the new bankruptcy regulation to stipulate a European Register to record bankruptcies declared in the Member States and an express clarification on whether to extend the bankruptcy of liberal professionals, when declared in a Member State, to countries like Italy where it does not exist. It was also thought important for parliament to clarify the role of the judicial administrator in the debate with the National Agency for Confiscated Assets to avoid undermining the best practices developed up until the present.

The Italian Notarial Foundation will take all that into account in concluding the Criminal Justice Project, drawing up a reform proposal as specified in the EU Commission’s RFP as a condition of financing. The next stage is set for late September in Madrid.

For the first time, a professional order, the Notariat, has developed a training project at an international level on the subject of money laundering, the administration of assets confiscated from organised crime and the fight against terrorism, by way of seminars, e-learning, conventions and research together with national and international institutions that deal with these matters. Further information is available at: www.fondazionenotariato.it.