Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

ITALY | FRANCESCO MORANDI 949 respect to the package travel contract and the contracts regarding linked travel arrangements, following a tradition at this point consolidated in national law. An interesting effort was also made in attempting to bring the various figures governed by the Directive into the context of the general principles regarding obligations and contracts – significant, in this regard, is the constant reference to the standard of good faith in interpreting and executing the contract – and to conform the institutions of a public nature to the functions already assigned to the various subjects of the public organization. The new regulation on package travel contracts and linked travel arrangements are now called upon to measure itself with the reality of commercial traffic, both nationally and, above all, in the European Union context, as well as internationally. Through its application, useful information may derive to assess the concrete effects of the new discipline on the rights of travellers and on the responsibility of professionals, organisers and retailers, and also in terms of harmonizing the internal market and strengthening legal certainty for all the system’s players. In fact, by 1 January 2021, the Commission is required to present to the European Union Parliament and the Council a general report on applying Directive (EU) 2015/2302, if necessary accompanied by legislative proposals (pursuant to art. 26, par. 3), while the national legislator can intervene, within 24 months from the coming into force of the Legislative Decree No. 62/2018, in order to adopt any supplementary and corrective provisions of the internal transposition regulations 134 . Nevertheless, even more so, it is essential to define precisely the reasons for a possible regulatory intervention, identifying the effective protection needs to achieve an appropriate balance of the interests at stake and to bring into focus the person’s well-being 135 . 134 This is the general procedure established by art. 31, par. 5, of LawNo. 234/2012, laying down general rules on Italy’s participation in the formation and implementation of European Union legislation and policies, to which art. 1, par. 1, of LawNo. 163/2017 (Delegation to the Government for the implementation of European directives and the implementation of other European Union acts – European Delegation law 2016-2017) expressly refers to the application of the principles, criteria and procedures contained therein to the purpose of adopting Legislative Decrees; see above, note 1. 135 See Corte cost., 30 marzo 2012, No. 75, in Dir. trasp ., 2012, p. 455, with a comment by A. Tamburro, Illegittimo il rinvio dell’art. 15 d.lgs. 17 marzo 1995 n. 111 alla Convenzione di Bruxelles del 1970 sul contratto di viaggio per la limitazione del risarcimento del danno alla persona , in Dir. tur. ., 2012, p. 30, with a comment by C. Alvisi and by G. Tassoni, Contratto di viaggio e danni alla persona: la limitazione risarcitoria è costituzionalmente illegittima – Un doppio commento , in Resp. civ. , 2012, p. 487, with a comment by F. Romeo, Viaggi tutto compreso e illegittimità della norma che prevede un massimale per il risarcimento dei danni alla persona , cit., in Resp. civ. , 2012, p. 1518, with a comment by S. Vernizzi, La consulta ed il limite risarcitorio per il danno alla persona , in Contr. , 2013, p. 357, with a comment by E. Ruffo, Pacchetti turistici all inclusive: addio al vecchio limite per il risarcimento dei danni alla persona , in Corriere giur. , 2013, p. 901, with a comment by A. Maccarone, Il contratto di viaggio “tutto compreso” e i limiti alla risarcibilità del danno alla persona ; see also L.A. Scarano, L’interpretazione conforme al diritto dell’UE nella giurisprudenza civile di legittimità , cit., p. 200.