Abstract

Discipline of general terms and conditions, under Section 1341 and 1342 of the Italian Civil Code, was originally intended to prevent and repress the abuses of mass contracting. Nowadays, general terms and conditions have evolved into a regulatory technique used by Agencies in the pursuit of general interests. The absence of negotiations – implicit in unilateral drafting – has taken on a highly positive connotation in a competitive perspective, in terms of comparability among the various offers. Agencies standardise contracts in the relevant market by prescribing mandatory contents and even forms and models ready-to-use by the entrepreneur. In this perspective, certain aspects of the «normative» approach to general terms and conditions, which was thought to be outdated, become topical