Sale of Goods (Amendment) Ordinance 1977. This Ordinance amends the law relating to the sale of goods to bring it into line with the law in England as amended by ss. 1 to 7 (inclusive) of the Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973.

Ship’s Agents Act 1977. This Act replaces the 1940 Act (see ss. 22–24). All ship’s agents (as defined in s. 2) operating in Italy must be registered in local registers (ss. 1 and 6). In some circumstances State-owned enterprises can act as ship’s agent for private persons (see s. 1). Local commissions (from the decisions of which there is appeal to a central commission) deal with registration, deletion, the amount of deposit to be required as a condition of registration, discipline, etc. (see ss. 7–8 and 14–15, and for disciplinary procedure: s. 13: penalties include suspension and striking off). Candidates (who may be Italian-speaking EEC nationals: s. 12) must be local residents with secondary education, no incapacity, and no serious convictions. They must be solvent, must have completed two years’ apprenticeship, and must pass an oral examination in commercial documents, law, and English (ss. 9–10). Registration is conditional upon payment of the required deposit within 30 days of acceptance (s. 11). A person who stops practising is removed from the register, as is a bankrupt (until discharge) (s. 18). It is an offence to practise as a ship’s agent unlawfully (s. 19) or to engage marine workers on behalf of a third party without being registered as a ship’s agent (s. 5). The agent of a foreign ship must inform her master, on her arrival, who appointed him, and ensure that all necessary funds are placed at his disposal before her departure (see s. 3). Breach of the requirements of the section is a striking-off offence (see s. 5). An agent who engages workers to work on a foreign ship must obtain authorisation (which will be refused if standards of safety etc., aboard are not equivalent to Italian standards, or if the contract of employment offends generally accepted Italian principles), must ensure, and tell the authorities, that social insurance to Italian standards had been arranged, and must prove that the shipowner has given a bankers’ or insurers’ guarantee for the payment of the wages (s. 4). Breach of these requirements renders the agent jointly liable with the shipowner (s. 5). Section 16 provides for the the drawing up of a scale of charges for ship’s agents, and s. 17 for their integration into the social security system.

[1978] E.L.D. 84.

Contractual Mistakes Act 1977. The Act codifies the rules of common law and equity governing the circumstances in which relief may be granted on the court’s mistake to a party to a contract or to a person claiming through or under any such party. The doctrine of non est factum, and the law relating to rectification, undue influence, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and misrepresentation are not affected. The court is given discretion to make such order as it thinks just, and, inter alia, one or more of the following things :—