Glossary of legal terms

Unfavorable administrative act provided by the law as a consequence of an offence different from civil or penal sanctions.

Government under the control and direction of the members of local communities rather than by an outside authority.

Service effected by keeping the document available for the people potentially interested on the premises or on the websites of the authority for a specified period.

A notice of the availability of the document shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall also be published on the official bulletin board of the authority or in a particular newspaper where it can be assumed the addressee will best receive the information.

Procedure by which a public administration gives appropriate notice of an administrative act to all the interested parties.

Services provided for economic consideration on a market, which would not be provided without public intervention or would be provided under different conditions in terms of physical and economic accessibility, continuity, non-discrimination, quality and safety.

The standard service is effected by post or e-mail and the addressee is considered to have been informed of the matter after the sending of the letter or e-mail, unless otherwise proven.

Suspension of the trial, which implies the temporary halt in proceedings,  which may occur for various reasons, such as:

• preliminary ruling: when the decision of the disputed issue is conditioned to the prior resolution of another pending question;
• a question of unconstitutionality: once the procedure has been completed, the Court appreciates the relevance of raising a question of unconstitutionality before the Constitutional Court, because it considers that there are doubts about the constitutionality of a legal norm relevant to the prosecution of the case;
• preliminary ruling CJEU: the Court, also after the conclusion of the proceedings, refers a question to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling, on the ground that it has doubts as to the interpretation of the rule of EU law or its validity; being essential to resolve these doubts in order to resolve the dispute;
• at the request of both parties: If they want a method of settling disputes (arbitration, mediation);
• at the request of one party.

A judgment entered at an early stage of the litigation where  the outcome of the proceedings is clear and the case does not need to proceed to a full hearing.