Autions in Italy
31 Introduction In Italy there is a special situation with regard to online auctions. In fact, Article 18, paragraph 5 of Legislative Decree No.114 of March 31, 1998, Reform of the Discipline of Commerce, provides that "auction sales operations carried out by means of television or other means of communications are prohibited". The expression "other means of communications" includes also the internet. Violation of Article 18 of Legislative Decree 114/1998 is subject to a penalty ranging from ##2,582.00-##15,493.00. The reason for this prohibition is that in Italy the legal framework relating to the "auctions" deems this kind of operation as involving public interests (i.e. the protection of socio-economic competition and guarantees for the participants). So, the fundamental general requirements are: (a) the actual location of the auction operation (i.e. the physical place); and (b) the timing of the auction operations. These requirements are not directly provided for by specific legal provisions, but they can be clearly deduced from Article 534 et seq. of the Italian Civil Procedure Code and by Articles 72 and 79 of the Regulation for State Accounting, Law No. 827 of May 24, 1924 (which provide for the physical presence of the auctioneer in the operations). It is clear that these requirements cannot be fulfilled if an auction is carried out online, as it is almost impossible to locate the physical place where the operations are conducted. But it must be pointed out that the above-mentioned rules only apply to public auctions and not to private (even online) ones. Moreover, the Consolidation Act Containing Rules for Public Security (Law No.773 of June 18, 1931, Article 115 and its Regulation of Execution, No.635 of May 6, 1940, Article 205) provide that a public security licence is required to conduct auction operations, whether public or private.