Abstract

The author takes into consideration the incidence that administrative regulation may produce on energy-related contracts, moving from the premise that regulation is settled by administrative Authorities who are subject to the rule of law; the regulatory acts themselves, moreover, should be completed also by means of the general principles of private law, resulting from the civil code. Regulatory acts can also modify the terms of the contracts, even through the application of art. 1339, 1374 cod. civ. When regulations impose specific duties of behaviour to the parties of the contract, it is necessary to define what are the most adequate remedies in case of breach, e.c. the illegality or voidness of the contract itself, rather than an indemnity for damages. Sometimes the regulatory acts impose that specific parts of the relation between the parties should be expressly considered in the text of the contract, raising a question about the relation of such dispositions with the duties of information. Finally, is taken into consideration the problem, if the clauses, that are imposed by the regulatory Authorities, can be subject to the judgement of unfairness on the basis of art. 33, cod. cons.