The School of Law of the University of Padua contributes to Uni4Justice under a multidisciplinary perspective, through the involvement of the chairs of Civil Procedure Law, Criminal Law, International Law, Comparative Private Law, Philosophy of Law and Legal Informatics.

The scientific area IUS/15 (Civil Procedure Law) participates in Uni4Justice with four lines of research, developed under the supervision of Professor Beatrice Zuffi, Professor Marino Marinelli and Professor Marco De Cristofaro, referring to the Department of Public, International and EU Law (Dipic) of the School of Law of the University of Padua. The four research lines – based on a combination of theoretical study and operational approach - are, respectively, focused on:

• the optimal organization of the judicial offices of first instance belonging to the Venice Judicial with reference to the management of civil law litigation proceedings;
• the implementation of the "Multi-door Courthouse", as well as of a protocol of "Court-annexed ADR", in support to the judicial offices of first instance belonging to the Venice Judicial District;
• the identification of organizational models and good practices aimed to improve the management of the existing backlog and future tasks related to insolvency procedures, as well as real estate enforcement proceedings pending before the Tribunal of Padua;
• the reduction of the backlog and the increase of the efficiency within the commercial chamber (Sezione specializzata in materia di imprese) of the Tribunal of Venice.

The post-doctoral research fellows in charge for the aforementioned research lines (Assegnisti di ricerca) are supported through the collection of data processed by directly accessing the records of the Tribunals of Padua, Treviso and Venice or, however, in close collaboration with the local Judges.

During the course of the project, multiple initiatives have been launched in collaboration with the local judicial offices of Padua, Treviso and Venice.

First, on the basis of special agreements concluded with the Tribunals of Padua and Treviso (on the side and in addition to those concluded at a consortium level), the research group referring to the Chair of Civil Procedure Law was enabled to have direct access to case files related to pending civil and commercial litigation in the following fields:

• construction contracts and procurement law (Tribunal of Treviso);
• non-contractual liability and economic aspects related to family and inheritance law (Tribunal of Padua).

For each case file, the research team prepares a report (according to an original template developed by the Padua research team itself, based on the evidence collected, with reference to the characteristics and needs of each judicial office, during the first phase of the Uni4Justice project) designed to assist the Judge in evaluating if the case presents certain indexes of mediability which would make it advisable to refer the parties of the civil claim to a mediation procedure.

For this purpose, the project replicates and – by taking into account the peculiarities of the local litigation pending at the Venice Judicial District – allows the localization of, the experiment conducted in Florence and Trento in the field of court annexed mediation, aimed at increasing the overall efficiency of the Judicial Offices involved, while granting the citizens with access to non-adjudicative/creative solutions, which may prove to be more effective than a judicial adjudication.

The initiative will enable the research team - in line with the main inspiring principle of the Uni4Justice project - to "enter in the Judicial Offices" collaborating directly with the Judges and, in some cases, with the judicial clerks (Funzionari dell’ufficio per il processo - UPP).

In the context of the discussions with the Presidents of the Judicial Offices involved in the aforementioned collaboration stream, a further point of interest emerged with reference to the involvement of the research team in the examination of case files subject to the recently introduced "Cartabia reform” of the civil trial (i.e. a recently introduced reform of the overall Italian civil trial organization and rules). In further detail, the research team was requested to assist the Judges of the Tribunal of Padua in the evaluation of preliminary procedural aspects subject to the order regulated under article no. 171 bis of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure by preparing a report (based on a second original template developed by the research team) for each case file.

This collaboration is accompanied by a further initiative concerning the collection of (EU, domestic and local) case-law focused on mediation, assisted negotiation and other alternative forms of dispute resolution, conducted by the research group both by accessing the official legal databases made available through the University Library, and through the direct involvement of the Judges assigned to the Civil Chambers of the Tribunals of Padua and Treviso.

A further collaboration stream, aimed at enabling a more efficient management of insolvency procedures and enforcement proceedings, in underway with the Tribunal of Padua.

Lastly, it is in place a collaboration with the business court (Sezione specializzata in material di impresa) established within the Tribunal of Venice, aimed at investigating, through questionnaires and structured interviews, the organization of the work of the judicial clerks assigned to the Chamber, as well as the identification of procedural solutions aimed at improving the procedural efficiency of the relationship between Attorneys and Judges. To this end, possible different applications and extensions of the software for case-management currently in use were identified, for the purpose of closing existing efficiency gaps. These solutions were accompanied by the drafting of guidelines for the organization of the filing of judicial documents, resulting in a reduction of the overall disposition time through the facilitation of the judicial cross-examination between statements of claims and of defence and supporting evidence.

The chair of Civil Procedure Law, with the organizational support of the junior research fellows (Borsisti di ricerca), organized five training sections in collaboration with the Scuola Superiore della Magistratura, Territorial Structure of Decentralized Training - District of Venice.

The workshops were open for attendance to Judges, judicial clerks and trainees, Attorneys-at-Law, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as Law Professors and Researchers.

The lecturers – by leveraging their diverse background to foster the discussion – provided an in-depth overview of the new features introduced by Legislative Decree No. 149/2022 in relation to first- and second-degree judgments, as well as to enforcement proceedings and family law disputes.

Below the details of the five workshops:

- The reform of the civil trial of first instance: the introductory and preparatory phase to the first hearing of the case (Coordinators: dott. Alberto Barbazza, Prof. Marco De Cristofaro.  Speakers: Dr. Pier Paolo Lanni, Prof. Marco De Cristofaro, Prof. Marcella Negri), held on March 20, 2023 at the assize courtroom of the Tribunal of Venice;

- The reform of the civil trial at first instance: novelties on the first hearing of the case and on the decisions to be taken as an outcome of such hearing (Coordinators: Cons. Innocenza Vono, Prof. Beatrice Zuffi. Speakers: Dr. Pier Paolo Lanni, Prof. Marino Marinelli, Prof. Beatrice Zuffi), held on April 3, 2023 2023 at the assize courtroom of the Tribunal of Venice;

- Novelties related to enforcement proceedings (Coordinators: Cons. Innocenza Vono, Prof. Monica Pilloni. Speakers: Prof. Monica Pilloni, Prof. Alessandro Nascosi, Dr. Anna Maria Soldi), held on April 3, 2023 in Padua, at Palazzo del Bo;

- Novelties related to appeal judgements (Coordinators: Cons. Innocenza Vono, Prof. Marino Marinelli. Speakers: Prof. Marino Marinelli, Dr. Guido Santoro, Dr. Federico Godio), held on May 5, 2023 in Padua, at Palazzo del Bo;

- The reform of the civil trial in persons, children and families-related proceedings (Coordinators: Dr. Eugenia Italia, Prof. Marco De Cristofaro. Speakers: Prof. Claudio Cecchella, Dr. Maria Teresa Rossi, Dr. Antonella Guerra), held on May 22, 2022 in Padua, at Palazzo del Bo.

A further cycle of workshops related to the so-called "Cartabia reform", specifically targeting judicial clerks, is being organized in collaboration with the other Universities which take part in the Uni4Justice Consortium.