Abstract

With the transposition of the Ecn plus Directive, six articles have been included in the Italian antitrust law, providing a new discipline of leniency programs. Italian leniency discipline, so far confined to soft law, has now the force of primary law. But, as the new articles are extremely detailed, the existing Italian Leniency Guidelines (or the adoption by the Authority of new Guidelines, pursuant to article 15-bis of law n. 287 of 1990) could be redundant. Indeed, if the Italian soft law is now confined within the principles of European discipline and can not go beyond it filling its gaps, some important parts of the current Italian Leniency Guidelines – which were already successfully applied – are going to be lost