Abuso di dipendenza economica e tutela dell'impresa debole

This paper aims to offer a panoramic view about the protection system, granted to weak companies in a situation of economic dependence who are vulnerable to abuse from dominant contractual counterparts, by article 9 of the so-called «sub-supplying law» (l. n. 192/1998). The provision proposes to solve the specific market failure consisting in lack of access to any valid alternative on the market, which basically forces the economically dependant counterpart to agree on excessively unbalanced contractual terms. The main issue, treated in this paper, concerns the problematic balance between the discipline of the individual remedies, provided for in the mentioned article 9, and the need for an effective protection of the dependant contractual party.