Abstract

Since the introduction of Law n. 1/1991 (January, 2nd 1991) and then Legislative Decree n. 385/1993 (September, 1st 1993), Legislative Decree n. 58/1998 (February, 8th 1998) and the related regulation provided by «Banca d’Italia» and «Consob» – according to the respective competence – the legislation defined a system aimed at the investors’ protection, establishing the obligation for banking and financial intermediaries to provide each customer with all the necessary information to ensure that the customer itself has a complete awareness about the investment operations he could ask for. Besides the duty of providing the customer with the necessary information in order to allow him to evaluate all the aspects of the specific banking/financial operation (and specifically its level of risk), the banking and financial intermediaries have to verify that the customer itself is actually aware of the investment operation, i.e his decision of realizing the operation has been consciously made. Among the other components realizing the system aiming at the investors’ protection in banking and financial operations, it has particular relevance the legal provision of the written form of the contracts, under penalty of nullity, although the Corte di Cassazione ruled that such contracts are valid and effective even in case of subscription made only by the customer.