Italy
Answer ... Yes. First-instance decisions can be challenged before the competent court of appeal according to Article 342 of the Code of Civil Procedure. An appeal against a first-instance decision must be filed within 30 days of service of the decision or, where there is no service of the decision, within six months.
If the appeal is clearly ungrounded, the court seized may rapidly fix a hearing and pronounce orally that the appeal should be dismissed.
The timeframe for appeal proceedings is outlined below.
The decision of the court of appeal can be further appealed to the Supreme Court in cases involving:
- national and international jurisdiction;
- violation of law;
- nullity of the appealed decision; or
- lack of examination of an essential fact discussed by the parties. However, this ground for appeal will not apply if both the first and second-instance courts evaluated the same essential fact in the same way.
The appeal must be filed within 60 days of service of the decision or, where there is no service of the decision, within six months.
Italy
Answer ... It is extremely difficult to predict the average time for each level of appeal due to the very recent modification of the procedural rules. In particular, these may change from court to court. At the Milan Court of Appeal, an appeal takes around two to three years; whereas this is normally shorter in Turin.
A Supreme Court appeal can take between three and four years, although this is expected to become quicker as a result of the modification of the procedural rules.