Il diritto dei giudici

This article highlights the growing role of case law, especially from Italy’s supreme Court, in shaping civil procedural law. It explores how judicial interpretation increasingly influences procedural rules and compares this with the U.S., where judicial activism is prominent. The comparison shows that judicial activism is common in complex legal systems, depending on their context. The paper focuses on Italy, analyzing key decisions in which creative interpre- tations have shaped the rules. It concludes that Italy’s legal system demonstrates a form of tempered judicial activism, grounded in constitutional principles and constrained by the separation of powers, the absence of binding precedent, and the nomophylactic role. Democratic legitimacy depends on argumentative and institutional checks.