The Court of Appeal case of Finney v Welsh Minsters established that section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990) cannot be lawfully used to amend a description of development in a planning permission. The case concerned two wind turbines, the tip height of which were proposed, in the TCPA 1990, s 73 application,

From time-to-time (particularly during the current holiday season), large and/or busy departments need to engage locums to provide cover. Ensuring they are reliable and up to standard is clearly very important from a risk management and client care perspective. Vetting The first step is to consider your approach to vetting staff. Vetting is the process of performing a background check on someone before offering employment. It involves obtaining and confirming: • references • employment history and qualifications—you can verify whether a locum is regulated by the SRA and holds a valid practising certificate via the SRA’s Solicitor search and check • details of any regulatory action taken against the individual (or the absence of such action)—you can find this on the SRA’s Solicitor records check • details of any criminal convictions (or the absence

The Italian Data Protection Authority (DPA) has launched an investigation on 8 March 2024 into OpenAI's algorithms used by its new artificial intelligence (AI) model, Sora, which transforms short text prompts into a realistic, dynamic video. The Sora service could have possible implications on the processing of users’ personal data in the EU, especially in Italy. The DPA has asked OpenAI to clarify a number of issues, including how the algorithm is trained, what data is collected and processed to train the algorithm, particularly if it is personal data, if specific categories of data are collected, and which sources are used. The DPA gave OpenAI 20 days, following its investigation, to clarify whether the new AI model is already available to the public and if it is or will be offered to users in Italy and the EU.

The Italian Data Protection Authority (DPA) has notified breaches of data protection law to OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT’s AI platform. Following the temporary ban on processing imposed on OpenAI by the Italian DPA on 30 March 2023, and based on the outcome of its fact-finding activity, the Italian DPA concluded that the available evidence pointed to the existence of breaches of the provisions contained in the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (EU GDPR). OpenAI has 30 days from the notification to submit any counterclaims to the alleged breaches. The Italian DPA will take account of the work in progress within the ad-hoc task force set up by the European Data Protection Framework in its final determination on the case.

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has published details regarding the Italian Supervisory Authority’s decision to impose an administrative fine on Luka Inc. for infringements relating to the processing of personal data in connection with its generative AI chatbot, Replika. The Italian Supervisory Authority initiated the investigation following press reports and preliminary fact-finding, which revealed that Luka Inc. had not established a valid legal basis for processing data, provided an inadequate privacy policy, and failed to implement adequate age verification mechanisms prior to 2 February 2023. Technical assessments confirmed ongoing deficiencies in the age verification system currently in use. Consequently, the Italian Supervisory Authority has imposed a fine of €5m for breaches of several Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR)) provisions and issued a compliance order requiring Luka Inc. to rectify its data processing operations. The authority has also reserved the right to assess the lawfulness of the company’s processing activities across the entire lifecycle of the underlying AI system in a separate proceeding.

Law360, London: An Italian national can't revive his claim that his former employer discriminated against him based on his nationality, after an appellate board found that bosses had only asked him for proof of settled status following the post-Brexit introduction of new rules.

1. What is the applicable legislation? As a preliminary remark, it should be noted that according to a general principle of Italian law known as the ‘reciprocity principle’, non-Italian investors (whether individuals or companies) are allowed to invest in Italy only if their country of origin allows equivalent rights to Italian investors, or if their country of origin has an international treaty with Italy that permits such investments. The ‘reciprocity principle’ is not relevant for European investors. However, for cases involving non-EU investors it is worth checking the application of this principle and, if necessary, setting up a specific investment structure. Most foreign investors in fact use EU platforms or Italian vehicles, particularly real estate funds in cases of real estate investments. With respect to investments in certain strategic sectors of the Italian economy the existing legal framework is set out in Decree Law No. 21 of 15 March 2012 on ‘Special powers on corporate organisations in the sectors of defence and national security, as well as for activities having strategic relevance in the fields of energy, transport and

This table summarises completed investigations by Italy’s competition authority (the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato—AGCM) into alleged cartels, anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant positions (Articles 101/102 TFEU and national equivalents) since 2015. Note—only investigations that have been made public are included in this table. 2026 Investigations under Article 101 TFEU/Article 2 of the Law No. 287/90 Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments Supply of savoury snacks for large-scale retailers• Amica Chips S.p.A.• Pata S.p.A.• Preziosi Foo S.p.A. Restrictive agreements—market sharing • Infringement decision issued—28/04/2026; fines totalling €23,298,147 issued Mid-range jewellery• Morellato Restrictive agreements—RPM • Infringement decision issued—31/03/2026; fines totalling €25,895,043 issued Broadband• Fibercop• TIM Restrictive agreements—exclusivity clauses • Commitments accepted—23/02/2026 Investigations under Article 102 TFEU/Article 3 of the Law No. 287/90 Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments High-speed passenger rail networks• RFI Concerns RFI abused its dominant position by using its procedures for allocating high-speed rail network capacity in ways that could hinder access to infrastructure and thus the entry of new operators • Commitments accepted—06/03/2026 2025 Investigations

Law360: Individuals who transfer their tax residence to Italy will now pay a €200,000 flat tax in lieu of other taxes on their foreign income instead of €100,000, the Italian government announced.

NOTE—to see whether notification thresholds in Italy and throughout the world are met, see further: Where to Notify. 1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the Italian merger control regime and are any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in Italy? A recent and important development regarding the Italian merger control regime was the introduction in 2022 of the power by the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) to review below-threshold transactions. In addition, some adjustments to the Italian provisions have been introduced in order to align them to the principles and rules set in Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (EC Merger Regulation) (Text with EEA relevance) (EUMR). Article 16.1 of Law No. 287 of 10 October 1990 (Italian Competition Law, ICL 1990) establishes that a concentration shall be notified prior to its implementation to the Italian Competition Authority (ICA), where the following two thresholds (which are adjusted each

Arbitration analysis: An important decision by the Italian Supreme Court on when a corporate dispute is arbitrable is examined by Martina Lucenti and Clemente Perrone Da Zara, of Portolano Cavallo.

EU Law analysis: Marco Mazzeschi, attorney at law and founder of Mazzeschi Srl, outlines the provisions of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) regarding stay and travel in the EU by UK citizens for business purposes, as exemplified with a specific focus on Italy.