"Principi di diritto" and Judicial Interpretative Formulas: Between national doctrine and European integration

The chapter analyses the role of the Italian Court of Cassation in tax litigation, with particular attention to VAT and its interaction with EU law. After outlining the structure of the Italian tax judiciary, it examines the growing importance of “principi di diritto” and their relationship with the interpretative formulas developed by the CJEU, arguing that in harmonised fields national courts are increasingly relying on a formulaic style. This is at least partly due to the influence of EU case law on national case law. The chapter argues that Judicial Interpretative Formulas (JIFs) play a key role in promoting coherence and harmonisation, even in a system that formally does not recognise binding precedent. In VAT case law especially, they reflect the increasingly creative function of judicial reasoning, raising questions about the balance between judge-made law and the principle of legality.