Simplification law shortens time for ex officio annulment
From 12 to 6 months the ordinary time limit for rescinding unlawful administrative measures of the public administration, protection of the rights of simple photographs is extended from 20 to 70 years
With Law No. 182 of 2 December 2025 (Simplification Law), Parliament made relevant changes for the art market as well. In practice, even the offices of the Superintendencies on export permits for works of art will not be able to go back on decisions already made after six months, thus giving certainty to the law, a call already present in Circular No. 38 of 18 September 2025 of the Ministry of Culture for criteria of prior accountability. Of course, the rule only stabilises certain situations, it does not affect the power of annulment after the deadline in cases of false or mendacious declarations (paragraph 2bis). Circular no. 38 issued by the MiC to the territorial offices had, in fact, already affirmed the principle drawn from the Constitutional Court's ruling of 26 June no. 88/2025, which confirmed in a case concerning a certificate of free movement the constitutional legitimacy of art. 21-nonies, co. 1, L. 241/1990, in the part in which it established the term of one year for the Public Administration to exercise the power of ex officio cancellation of illegitimate authorisations, marking a turning point in the practices of export offices and protection strategies. Now the ex officio cancellation of PA measures is reduced to six months. We asked the lawyer Andrea Buticchi, Partner of Studio CBM & Partners in Milan and specialised in art and copyright law, for clarification.
What changes with the Simplification Law for the circulation of works of art?
Article 1 amended Article 21-nonies of Law 241/1990, reducing the ordinary term referred to in paragraph 1 for the ex officio cancellation of unlawful administrative measures from 12 to 6 months from the date of the measure itself. The new provision expresses the legislator's orientation of guaranteeing the stability of administrative decisions and legal certainty, and constitutes a reassuring initiative regarding the validity of administrative decisions also in the sphere of cultural heritage.
The other notable change in the Simplification Law concerns copyright. What changes does it introduce here too?
Article 47 amended Article 92 of Law 633/1941 (Copyright Law) on the term of protection of simple photographs. Before the reform, the term of protection of rights on simple photographs (which, not being photographic works, do not enjoy full copyright protection) provided for in the law was 20 years from the date of production of the photograph. With the amendment, that term becomes 70 years, also starting from the date of production of the photograph. The amendment approximates the treatment of simple photographs and photographic works, the different qualification of which is often the focus of copyright litigation.
