This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision. BARBIERI AND OTHERS v. ITALY JUDGMENT 1 In the case of Barbieri and Others v. Italy, The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Committee composed of: Frédéric Krenc, President, Raffaele Sabato, Alain Chablais, judges, and Liv Tigerstedt, Deputy Section Registrar, Having regard to: the applications against the Italian Republic lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by the applicants listed in the appended table (“the applicants”), on the various dates indicated therein; the decision to give notice of the complaints concerning Article 6 § 1 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention to the Italian Government (“the Government”), represented by their Agent, Mr L. D’Ascia, and to declare the...
FIRST SECTION CASE OF BARBIERI AND OTHERS v. ITALY (Applications nos. 76462/12 and 33 others – see appended list) JUDGMENT STRASBOURG 23 October 2025 This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
BARBIERI AND OTHERS v. ITALY JUDGMENT 1 In the case of Barbieri and Others v. Italy, The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Committee composed of: Frédéric Krenc, President, Raffaele Sabato, Alain Chablais, judges, and Liv Tigerstedt, Deputy Section Registrar, Having regard to: the applications against the Italian Republic lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by the applicants listed in the appended table (“the applicants”), on the various dates indicated therein; the decision to give notice of the complaints concerning Article 6 § 1 and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention to the Italian Government (“the Government”), represented by their Agent, Mr L. D’Ascia, and to declare the remainder of the applications inadmissible; the parties’ observations; Having deliberated in private on 2 October 2025, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE 1. The applications concern the retrospective application of section 32 (5), (6) and (7) of Law no. 183 of 4 November 2010 (“Law no. 183/2010”) to proceedings pending at the domestic level. 2. The applicants had been employed under one or more fixed-term contracts by different employers. Between 1999 and 2009 they initiated domestic proceedings, asking for the conversion ex tunc of their fixed-term contracts into permanent ones, their reinstatement and, consequently, an entitlement to remuneration backdated to the time at which the employers had been notified, or had otherwise become aware, of the applicants’ intention and availability to continue fulfilling their obligations within the employment relationship (mora credendi). 3. Applying the legislation in force at that time, the domestic courts converted the applicants’ contracts into permanent ones and awarded damages corresponding to lost earnings during the period running from the mora credendi until their reinstatement. The amounts awarded were calculated on the basis of the applicants’ last monthly gross salary under their respective fixed-term contracts. 4. While the different sets of domestic proceedings were pending, section 32 (5), (6) and (7) of Law no. 183/2010 introduced a new method for calculating such compensation, providing for the award of a lump sum ranging, in principle, from two-and-a-half to twelve times the last monthly gross salary.
BARBIERI AND OTHERS v. ITALY JUDGMENT 2 5. Consequently, the domestic courts accepted the applicants’ request to have their fixed-term contracts converted into permanent ones but recalculated the amount of damages awarded, in accordance with Law no. 183/2010. Information concernin...