Consob's Resolutions no. 21867 of 26 May 2021 (the "Resolution") introduced some relevant amendments to Consob's "Regulation concerning the Arbitrator for Financial Disputes" (the "Regulation") governing disputes between investors and intermediaries relating to the breach by the latter of the obligations of diligence, correctness, information and transparency provided to investors in the exercise of the activities regulated in Part II of the Consolidated Law on Finance, including cross-border disputes and disputes covered by Regulation (EU) no. 524/2013.
The Resolution follows a public consultation process and takes into account the opinion of the Committee of Market Operators and Investors. The results of the consultation and the opinion are available on Consob's website.
The mentioned amendments to the Regulation are mainly aimed at simplifying the procedure before the Arbitrator and improving its functioning.
Below you can fin a brief summary of the main amendments:
1. extension of the Arbitrator's jurisdiction to disputes concerning the violation of the obligation to deliver to the investor the document containing the key information (Key Information Document) referred to in Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation (EU) no. 1286/2014;
2. further definition of the scope of operations of the Arbitrator, by specifying that it is responsible for disputes relating to transactions or conduct which have been carried out within the tenth year prior to the date of the appeal;
3. introduction of new hypothesis of inadmissibility of the appeal: the pending arbitration or jurisdictional proceedings, the existence of a previous decision on the merits taken by the Arbitrator or the outcome of a judicial or arbitration proceeding;
4. introduction of new provisions in order to facilitate the amicable settlement of the dispute and the fulfilment of decisions:
(i) the possibility for the parties to request a suspension of the proceedings in order to find an agreement;
(ii) the termination of the proceedings in case of reaching an agreement or the full satisfaction of the claim;
(iii) the postponement of the publication of the notification of non-fulfilment in the event of the start of negotiations aimed at reaching an agreement on the execution of the decision;
(iv) the possibility of late fulfilment with consequent cancellation of the notification of non-fulfilment;
(v) the elimination or the reduction of the loss contribution payable by the intermediary in the presence of a conciliatory proposal, rejected by the applicant, with reference to amounts equal to or greater than those recognized by the AFD in the decision;
5. revision of the system of terms for the conclusion of the Arbitrator's procedure in order to speed up the decision-making phase.
