Kitesurf e responsabilità civile

This work was originally conceived as a Student’s Note to a civil case assigned in order to be commented by the author during the course of Civil Law held by prof. Umberto Izzo in the academic year 2017/18 at the Faculty of Law of the University of Trento. It later became a more structured investigation into the regulations and civil liability aspects connected to the practice of kiteboarding, a field largely unexplored in the civil liability scholarship. The primary aim of this paper is to investigate the legal issues related to the world of sports activities, particularly regarding kitesurf, in order to provide a framework of the subject. This research also outlines the composition of Italian sports system, which is basically self-governing. The first chapter focuses on some distinctive aspects of this sport, from its rules to the techniques employed, the different sport disciplines included in kiteboarding, the essential equipment required to practice. The second chapter focuses on the legislative regulation of this phenomenon and outlines the complexity of the topic caused by the multitude of laws, adopted by the State or Regions regulating kitesurfing. However, we must point out the fact that no comprehensive legal text governing these activities uniquely has yet been adopted in Italy. The third chapter also highlights some of the most significant figures in the Italian sports organization, from the coaches to the National Federations, together with the many associations based in Italy, which are all coordinated by the Italian National Olympic Committee (C.O.N.I.), the institution in charge of the unity of the sports system and of enforcing fundamental principles of democracy and equal opportunity among sport pratictioners. The final chapter focuses on the civil liability of coaches and sports associations for the damages sustained by pupils. On the one hand, coaches, who are highly qualified, efficient and trained, are under an obligation to ensure the safety of their students during the lessons, thus they must choose the correct equipment, the spots where to practice, the favourable weather conditions, according to their pupils’ skills. On the other, associations organizing sports courses shall be jointly and severally liable, together with the coach, on the basis of the respondeat superior doctrine.