Through ruling no. 1627 of 16 July 2025, the Regional Administrative Tribunal (TAR) of Sicily – Palermo ruled on the applicability of the so-called silent consent under Article 17-bis of Law No. 241/1990, even in cases where a Superintendence is involved in a decisory Conference of Services (“Conferenza di servizi decisoria”) for the purpose of granting a landscape authorization.
The case originated from the annulment by the Municipality of a previously positive conclusion of a Conference of Services regarding a building permit. The annulment was based on a late opinion from Superintendence. The Court noted that, once the deadline for the opinion by a competent authority had expired without response being received, pursuant to art. 17-bis, the failure to respond entails tacit approval and any subsequent opinion has to be considered as legally irrelevant.
Significantly, the ruling affirms that:
(a) the silent-consent mechanism between public administrations, as provided by Article 17-bis, is a general principle, and
(b) Article 17-bis also applies when the administrative procedure takes the form of a Conference of Services, confirming an evolving and systemic interpretation of inter-administrative cooperation.
The Madia reform and the “new paradigm” of simplification
The decision aligns with a well-established line of case law, first recognized in the Opinion No. 1640/2016 issued by the Special Commission of the Council of State, which interpreted Article 17-bis shortly after its introduction by the 2015 Madia Reform (Law no. 124/2015). The legal framework was later fully clarified by the Council of State, Section IV, in ruling no. 8610/2023.
The Madia Reform marked a turning point by introducing a “new paradigm” of procedural simplification. According to this approach, even authorities responsible for the protection of sensitive interests (such as the environment, landscape, or cultural heritage) must comply with defined procedural deadlines. If they fail to do so, consent is deemed to have been given (tacitly) by law.
This reform replaced the older “devolutive silence” (“silenzio devolutivo”) model – provided under Article 146 of the Code of Cultural and Landscape Heritage (Legislative Decree No. 42/2004) – by establishing silent consent as the general rule in inter-administrative relations, even in complex and multi-level procedures (such as Conference of Services procedures).
recognizing codecision and the pluristructured nature of the procedure
The TAR of Palermo also reaffirmed that Superintendence plays a co-decisional role, not a merely consultative one. The procedure for issuing landscape authorization in the context of a conference of services procedure must therefore be considered pluristructured: the final act is adopted only after the participation of multiple administrations, each required to provide its binding input within a fixed deadline.
The silent consent between public administrations ensures procedural effectiveness and protects the public interest, preventing the inertia of a single Authority from blocking the overall administrative process.
A consolidated jurisprudential trend
This ruling confirms a consolidated and evolving trend in Italian administrative jurisprudence, which is also increasingly reflected in institutional practice.
Todarello & Partners has long supported this interpretation – both in its legal work and research – promoting a balanced and modern approach that reconciles the protection of cultural and landscape values with the constitutional principles of legality, transparency, and administrative efficiency.
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Authors of this note are Giacomo Guglielmini and Alessandro Castellini.
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