Reflections on Insolvency Issues in the Field of Port Concessions under Italian Law

This article offers an overview of the most relevant insolvency issues in the field of ports under Italian law, with particular attention to port concessions. This is quite a complex topic, given that ports are key nodes of transport networks and that their efficiency is of strategic importance for regional competitiveness, but also in view of the existence of different overlapping issues under insolvency and bankruptcy law, administrative law and maritime law. First, the article refers to the main critical aspects characterising the issuance and/or the renewal of public concessions for state-owned maritime areas and quays; then, the consequences for existing concessions in the event of the insolvency of the concessionaire company will be considered, both from the perspective of termination (describing the legal consequences for existing concessions) and from an ongoing perspective (examining how a port concession can be granted to another contractor). Finally, the possible main impacts on port concessions of the recent comprehensive reform of insolvency and pre-insolvency procedures underItalian law will be highlighted.