Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

ARTICLE 25 | ALESSANDRA CORRADO AND SARA D’URSO 525 effectiveness of the penalty, and thus on the effective harmonization that the Directive aims to achieve. Only art. 51-novies states the Regions and the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano expressly refers to the need for effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for certain violations. It is important to precise that the amounts deriving from the application of the penalties shall be destined to the benefit of the travellers, which shall be detected from time to time by the Ministry of Cultural heritage and activities and tourism. With reference to the choice of the Authority that should be competent of ascertaining the violation of the rules of law, inhibiting its continuation as well as eliminating its effects, the Competition Authority 12 has been indicated, which shall also avail itself of the sanctioning instruments provided for by the Code of Consume. 4. CONCLUSIONS The analysis of the law clearly shows the legislator’s attempt to reconcile the interests of the parties, i.e. increasing transparency and strengthening legal certainty for travellers and professionals. From the Italian perspective, as anticipated above, the law represents an improvement in terms of travellers’ protection, given that penalties were not provided for in the old regulation. The same cannot be said in terms of strengthening of legal certainty, for the reasons indicated below. First of all the Directive simply indicates that penalties must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive: it does not however provide any definition of those three criteria, nor any guidance on how to determine what level of penalty would be effective, proportionate or dissuasive with respect to the violation committed. Legal certainty as well as transparency should imply common criteria, among which the nature of the violation, the number of consumers affected by it, 12 The Antitrust Authority is an independent administrative authority that carries out its activity and makes decisions in full autonomy with respect to the executive power. It was established with the law n. 287 of 10 October 1990, on “Rules for the protection of competition and the market”. The Authority is a collegiate body and its decisions are taken by majority. The President and the members of the Authority are appointed by the Presidents of the Chamber and Senate and hold office for 7 years, non-renewable.