Covid-19 emergency: the new sanctions

Emergency legislation to address the Covid-19 emergency has developed in a jungle of government measures and regional ordinances, often not coordinated with each other. The result has been a climate of generalized uncertainty, especially with regard to the sanctioning aspects.

As often happens, initially we relied on the threat of criminal sanctions (Article 650 of the Criminal Code), which however brought with it many interpretative doubts, both on the scope of the rule and on its concrete applicability.

With Legislative Decree 25 March 2020 n. 19, the Government has radically changed course, replacing the recently introduced sanctioning regime with a new administrative sanction.

So, is it all solved? Probably not, because the previous doubts are replaced by new ones. It is therefore worth starting a reflection on the topic by briefly analyzing the main innovations introduced. In the hope that the regulatory framework will not have to change again too soon.