Introduction

On 17 March 2026, Law 36/2026, entitled “Delegation of powers to the Government for the transposition of European directives and the implementation of other acts of the European Union” (European Delegation Law 2025), was passed.

The law was published in the Official Gazette No. 70 of 25 March and it came into force on 9th April 2026.

Each year, through the European Delegation Act, the Parliament delegates to the Government the power to transpose EU directives and implement other legislative acts of the Union. Through this mechanism, Parliament transposes a series of directives for which the deadline for incorporation into the Italian legal system is about to expire or has already expired in 2025 or earlier years. The 2025 European Delegation Law covers various sectors, from sustainability and due diligence to wolf protection, from consumer rights to the protection of journalists and activists from abusive legal proceedings (EU Directive 2024/1069, the so-called ‘Anti-SLAPP Directive’).

The Delegation Mechanism

Article 1 sets out the general framework of the delegation act, under which the government is authorised to adopt legislative decrees for the implementation and transposition of EU acts, in line with the procedures, principles and criteria outlined in Articles 31 and 32 of Law No. 234/2012. Article 31 of that law stipulates that legislative decrees must be adopted within specific timeframes, tied to the deadlines for transposing directives. Draft decrees are submitted to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, allowing parliamentary committees to give their opinion before final adoption. Under Article 32 of Law No. 234/2012, the general guiding principles that the government must follow when issuing decrees include, amongst others, simplifying administrative procedures, avoiding excessive regulation, ensuring coordination between state and regional competences, and providing for proportionate sanctions if necessary.

Overall, the procedure safeguards parliamentary scrutiny of the legislative process, despite the delegation of powers to the executive. Legislative decrees may provide for expenditure only if necessary to fulfill EU obligations and solely within the limits of the resources already available to the competent administrations. Where this is not possible, the financial coverage must come from the Fund for the Transposition of European Legislation, established by Article 41-bis of the same Law No. 234/2012.

The most significant human rights-related acts transposed

The law is divided into three chapters:

1. Delegation of powers to the Government for the implementation and transposition of European Union legislative acts
2. Delegation of powers to the Government for the transposition of European directives
3. Delegation of powers to the Government for the implementation of European regulations

This act provides for the transposition into Italian law of 24 directives (6 specified in the articles and a further 18 listed in Annex A as they do not require specific criteria for delegation to the Government) and the implementation of 11 EU regulations.

Below are some of the directives and other EU acts most closely linked to human rights issues.

In the field of sustainability, there is EU Directive 2024/1799, that includes rules to encourage the repair of consumer goods. It is inserted in a trend towards promoting a sustainable development model and it will implicate the establishment of a European online repair platform (Art. 23) and the related national contact point. Finally, it sets out a framework of remedies, should the repair service not be effectively carried out.
On the same subject matter, there is the mandate to align national legislation with EU Regulation 2024/1244 on the reporting of environmental data from industrial installations, which establishes a European portal on industrial emissions to replace the European emissions register. This portal will enable comparisons to be made and decisions to be taken on environmental matters, promoting  improvements in environmental performance and facilitating the monitoring of trends and compliance with relevant international agreements.
Provision is also made for the implementation of both EU Regulation 2024/1157 on shipments of waste and EU Directive 2024/1619, which establishes common criteria to ensure transparency and independence in environmental, social and governance assessments of European companies and their branches in third countries, and to steer investment towards the objectives of the European Green Deal.

The transposition of Directive 2024/1760 (the so-called ‘Due Diligence Directive’), which imposes due diligence obligations on large enterprises, including non-European ones that generate significant turnover within the EU, is particularly important (Annex A to the European Delegation Act).
The Government is authorised to adopt, within twelve months of the date of entry into force of the present law, one or more legislative decrees to bring national legislation into line with the provisions of EU Regulation 2024/1244 on the reporting of environmental data from industrial installations and the creation of a portal on industrial emissions. Among the various specific guiding principles and criteria that it must uphold there is the provision to the public, via electronic means, of national data collected in implementation of the same Regulation, on a continuous basis, free of charge and without the need for registration, ensuring the continuity of historical data and eliminating unnecessary reporting burdens.
Finally, the Government is mandated to align the national legislation with the provisions of EU Regulation 2024/590 on substances that deplete the ozone layer.

In the area of individual freedoms and rights, Directive 2024/2842 of 23 October 2024 extends the scope of Directive 2024/2841 to third-country nationals lawfully residing in a Member State.

Furthermore, this law transposes Directive (EU) 2016/680 concerning the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties. Pursuant to the latter, access to data contained in electronic devices for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal offences in general by the competent authorities must be regulated in such a way as to 

• define with sufficient precision the nature and categories of the relevant offences; 
• ensure compliance with the principle of proportionality;
• ensure that the exercise of the possibility of accessing personal data is subject to prior review by a judge or an independent administrative body (except in duly justified urgent cases and in relation to specific offences)

Finally, EU Directive 2024/1069 on the protection of individuals engaged in public participation from manifestly unfounded or abusive legal proceedings (“strategic lawsuits aimed at suppressing public participation”) is transposed. This provision aims to counter legal actions brought to intimidate journalists and activists and restrict their freedom of expression. SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) often do not aim for a legal victory, but to place a burden on individuals in order to discourage their participation in public debate. 

In exercising this mandate, the Italian government is required to “define the concept of ‘matters with cross-border implications’, as referred to in Article 30 of Directive (EU) 2024/1069, on the basis of the negative condition set out therein: “A matter should be considered to have cross-border implications unless both parties are domiciled in the same Member State as the court seised and all other elements relevant to the situation concerned are located in that Member State”.

The Directive also provides protection against judgments from third countries. Under Article 16, it is stipulated that “Member States shall ensure that the recognition and enforcement of a third-country judgment in court proceedings against public participation by a natural or legal person domiciled in a Member State is refused, if those proceedings are considered manifestly unfounded or abusive…” and jurisdiction is reserved to the courts of the Member State in which the victim is domiciled for actions relating to compensation for damages and reimbursement of legal costs arising from abusive legal proceedings brought by a claimant domiciled outside the EU in the jurisdiction of a third country (Article 17).

Conclusion

The European Delegation Act (36/2026) is a comprehensive tool for ensuring Italy’s compliance with EU law across various sectors and paves the way for significant innovations in the national legal landscape.

Its structure ensures clarity, whilst financial safeguards ensure that the new measures remain within the limits of available resources. The Court of Justice of the EU is the body to which one must turn to ensure that implementing and transposition measures are applied in accordance with EU law and the case law of the Court itself.