Abstract

The Italian Rules related to Public Services appears to have been highly unstable for a long time. A recent Provision, contained in Article 23-bis of Law Decree n. 112/2008, imposes now on Public Bodies willing to turn on the In-House Providing of Public Services to obtain a preliminary non-binding Consent by many Administrative Authorities, including the Italian Competition Authority. This paper provides an overview and a strong criticism of the Italian rules on the subject. It also makes some Considerations on Antitrust and Competition Law, in order to foster a more relaxed Discipline for entrusting the Management of Public Services, together with a Proposal of a direct Antitrust Liability of the Public Owners of In-House Companies.