Abstract

This article analyses the effectiveness of the regulation of legal professional privileges in Italy with respect to notaries and bailiffs.

Worth noting is the profession of a notary, who is both a free professional and a public official. On the one hand, the Act on Notaries dating back to 1913 defines a notary as an official, and on the other later legislation classifies notaries on a par with other legal professions. This differentiation is actually very important as it changes the type of confidentiality by which a person is bound. In the former case we would deal with official secrecy, whereas in the latter with a professional privilege. This differentiation significantly affects also the scope of penal protection of confidential information itself. However, it has been assumed in literature that notaries practice a free profession despite the fact that they somewhat act as public officials, and therefore the issue of confidentiality has to be considered as in the case of other free professions.

On the other hand, as regards the profession of a bailiff (court enforcement officer) it should be noted that contrary to the Polish system it is not a free profession since bailiffs act as judicial assistants and are employed directly by the Ministry of Justice. Hence they are bound by official secrecy rather than professional confidentiality. The Act on Bailiffs clearly provides that bailiffs are duty bout to keep official secrecy and moreover lays down the principles of disciplinary liability for its breaking.

Penal responsibility for breaking a secret by a bailiff is regulated by the same provisions which have been repeatedly discussed in the article concerning judges’ privilege.