Commentary on Judgment No. 9570 of 2024: Agricultural Right of Preemption

The judgment No. 9570 of April 9, 2024, from the Court of Cassation serves as an important reference point for the regulation of the right of preemption and agricultural redemption. In particular, the Court addresses the issue of competition among multiple holders of such rights, establishing clear criteria for resolving conflicts. This article aims to analyze the main elements of the judgment, highlighting the meaning and practical implications of its provisions.

The Regulatory Context

The judgment is situated within a regulatory framework outlined by Legislative Decree No. 228 of 2001, particularly Article 7, which governs the right of preemption in the agricultural sector. This provision introduced modernized criteria for selecting the contractor while maintaining the goal of promoting the expansion of farms and land consolidation. The judgment clarifies that, in the absence of preferential titles, the judge must assess the greater or lesser ability of the applicants to pursue these objectives.

The Judge's Selection Criteria

The Court emphasizes that, in the case of competition among multiple holders of the right of preemption, it is essential not only to consider the temporal priority of the initiatives but rather the actual capacity of each applicant to contribute to the goals of modern agriculture. In this sense, the judge's selection criteria are as follows:

  • Greater ability to achieve the expansion of farm sizes.
  • Capacity to promote the technical and economic efficiency of the productive unit.
  • Contribution to land consolidation and business development.
Competition among multiple holders of the right of preemption and the consequent right of agricultural redemption - Conflict resolution by the judge - Absence of preferential titles among the applicants as per Article 7 of Legislative Decree No. 228 of 2001 - Contractor selection criteria - Identification - So-called contractual freedom - Exclusion - Greater or lesser ability to realize the purpose of the norms - Necessity - Foundation. In the case of competition among multiple holders of the right of preemption and the consequent right of agricultural redemption, the judge, if none of the applicants enjoys the preferential titles recognized by Article 7 of Legislative Decree No. 228 of 2001, must grant precedence to one over the others based on their greater or lesser ability to achieve the objective for which the preemption is established, namely the expansion of the territorial dimensions of the direct-farming enterprise that best meets the needs of land consolidation, business development, and the establishment of efficient productive units from a technical and economic perspective, regardless of the temporal priority of one initiative over another, and without the application of the seller's freedom of choice, given that the aforementioned provision has not revolutionized the criteria already contained in Article 8 of Law No. 590 of 1965 and Article 7 of Law No. 817 of 1971, but has introduced other, more modern criteria, leaving the objectives of the preemption and agricultural redemption system unchanged.

Conclusions

In conclusion, judgment No. 9570 of 2024 represents an important clarification for issues related to the right of preemption and agricultural redemption. The Court of Cassation, by establishing clear criteria oriented towards economic and territorial objectives, provides a useful framework for both legal practitioners and farmers. The importance of this ruling lies in its potential applicability to ensure sustainable and efficient development of Italian agriculture.

Bianucci Law Firm