The Tribunale di Roma stated that the judge, in assessing if a clause is unfair or not, should consider the issues related to the organization and the management of the business concerned.
In particular, a term could not be considered not unfair when such clause is necessary to supply the electricity (i.e. a service of public utility).
In this decision, the Tribunale di Roma also confirmed the legal standing of the consumer association to seek an injunction for the protection of the consumers’ interests.
Actually, the article 1469-sexies of the Italian Civil Code provides for the action for an injunction for the protection of consumers. As for such article, Craft and Trade Chambers and the associations, representing consumers and professional workers, may avail themselves of an action for an injunction.
In this case, the judge affirmed that an urgent injunction (i.e. inibitoria urgente) is not admissible because the unfair terms have been used for a long time in the standard contracts of Enel S.p.A. and thus that it was not required a remedy to prevent an “irreparable damage” to the consumers’ interests.