The interbank computerised archive of bad cheques and payment cards - better known as the Centrale d'Allarme Interbancaria (hereinafter CAI) - was set up on June 2002, pursuant to Art. 36 of the Legislative Decree n. 507 of 30 December 1999. The setting up of the archive is the core of the new system of legal sanctions that has abolished the criminal nature of the issuing of unauthorised or uncovered bank and postal cheques.
The CAI carries on a service of general economic interest, that can be ascribed to the institutional functions of the Banca d'Italia, its purpose being that of ensuring the smooth operation of the payment system.
The Banca d'Italia is variously involved in the operation of the CAI: it has the authority of overseeing the payment systems as well as supervisory functions on the subjects having the task to send the data to the archive (banks, postal office, financial intermediaries issuing payment cards); furthermore, it is the data controller of the processing of personal data into the archive.
The Banca d'Italia Legal Department has deeply investigated the main issues concerning the general rules on cheques as well as those related to the operation of the CAI. The Department has also been frequently involved in legal actions taken by individuals towards the Bank with the aim of objecting to the entry of data into the archive.
The research condenses the outcome of this activity and is divided into two parts.
The first part is devoted to the most relevant aspects of the new system of penalties for the irregular issuing of cheques and, among these, to the legal framework on CAI. The management of the archive (assigned to an external body: the Società Interbancaria di Automazione - SIA), the data processing, the comparison with other computerised archives of similar nature and the comparison with different procedures which can be initiated in relation to the issuing of unauthorised or uncovered bank and postal cheques have been studied in depth.
The second part includes a wide survey of the case law on the matter at issue, and it is divided into two sections. The first section is devoted to the procedural issues (i.e: the jurisdiction of the courts, the procedural rules and the legal capacity to be sued). The second one focuses on the substantive law issues as those concerning the cheque call and the late payment of the cheque.
