Le garanzie del contraddittorio nei procedimenti sanzionatori dinanzi alle autorità idipendenti

The essay analyzes the discipline of a specific type of individual administrative procedures in front of independent agencies: the ones that end with the imposition of fines to the firms subject to investigation. After illustrating the theorical justifications elaborated to explain the need for more intense procedural defense rights in the above mentioned procedures, the essay focuses on several levels of analysis. In particular it takes into account the multiplicity of sources of law involved in the above mentioned procedures and the different dimensions of the right of defense: the vertical dimension, implied in the relationship between the agency entitled with the power of imposing fines and the firm subject to that power; the horizontal dimension, which involves the firm under investigation and a third party, usually a competitor or a consumer.