Normative complexity and the length of administrative disputes: evidence from Italian regions

The aim of this paper is to study the effects of normative complexity on delays in justice. In particular, a unique database was used, created by reading eight hundred sentences pronounced by the Italian Regional Administrative Courts of first instance (Tribunali Amministrativi Regionali), located in each of the 20 regions in Italy, between 2000 and 2007. After a preliminary analysis of the data, regarding the duration of disputes, their objects and other relevant variables, an econometric study was performed to verify whether the length of administrative disputes may be explained, together with other causes, by the complexity of the legal system. The indicator used as a proxy of normative complexity was developed in previous studies in this field. Different kinds of models were used and specifications performed to render the empirical results more robust. The outcome of the analysis appears to support the idea that normative complexity may be a burden on the activity of courts, and that this could contribute to explaining the slowness of justice proceedings.