The so-called ‘Fornero’ rite Fornero was (again) superseded by the provisions of Legislative Decree No. 149/2022, which restored the previous procedural discipline.

Interpretative and applicative doubts arose in the transitional phase.

The provisions repealing the Fornero Rite apply exclusively ‘to proceedings’ commenced on or after 28 February 2023.

But by ‘proceedings’ what degree is meant?

In its recent ruling No. 11344 of 30 April, the Labour Section of the Court of Cassation ruled on this delicate interpretative profile, concerning the temporal scope of application of the transitional provisions contained in the aforementioned legislative decree, with specific reference to their impact on the Fornero Rite.

The fact that engaged the Supreme Court is as follows:

following the rejection by the Court of First Instance of the appeal brought to challenge a dismissal, the employee had lodged an appeal on 1 December 2023, instead of the complaint provided for by the applicable legislation.

The Court of Appeal held that the new rules introduced by Legislative Decree No. 149/2022 were inapplicable to the case at hand, observing that the repeal of the Rito Fornero could only operate with reference to proceedings instituted after 28 February 2023.

Consequently, the case in question, brought before that date, had to be considered subject to the previous rules, with the application of the peremptory term of thirty days for the filing of the claim, pursuant to Article 1, paragraph 58 of Law No. 92/2012.

Ne è derivata, pertanto, la declaratoria di inammissibilità dell’impugnazione, in quanto proposta tardivamente.

Avverso tale decisione veniva proposto ricorso per Cassazione, con cui si deduceva la violazione degli artt. 35 e 37 del d.lgs. n. 149/2022.

Il ricorrente sosteneva che, a seguito dell’abrogazione del Rito Fornero, non fosse più possibile proporre reclamo, ritenendo che l’art. 35, comma 4, del citato decreto legislativo imponesse l’applicazione delle nuove regole anche alle impugnazioni depositate successivamente al 28 febbraio 2023, a prescindere dalla data di instaurazione del giudizio di primo grado.

La Suprema Corte ha rigettato il ricorso, evidenziando come l’art. 35, comma 1, del d.lgs. n. 149/2022, in ossequio al principio della perpetuatio iurisdictionis, sancisca l’applicabilità delle disposizioni previgenti ai procedimenti già pendenti alla data del 28 febbraio 2023, includendo, tra queste, anche le modalità di impugnazione.

The provision set forth in paragraph 4 of the same article, which extends the application of the new provisions to appeals brought after that date, is to be understood as referring exclusively to proceedings instituted by ordinary civil procedure or by the labour procedure pursuant to Article 434 et seq. of the Code of Civil Procedure, with the exclusion of the complaint typical of the Fornero procedure, to which, moreover, no express reference is made.

This principle ensures the coherence and unity of the proceedings, guaranteeing that the entire procedure is governed by the legislation in force at the time of its commencement. This interpretation is in line with the well-established principle of tempus regit actum, according to which procedural rules are applied according to their temporal validity, thus helping to prevent regulatory conflicts and application inconsistencies between similar proceedings initiated at different times.

The Court of Cassation, therefore, confirmed the correctness of the territorial court’s interpretation, deciding to offset the costs of the proceedings, given the novelty of the issue dealt with and the absence of case law precedents.

The Law Firm remains at your disposal for any possible clarification.