For the adoption of certain categories of executive acts, the European Commission benefits from the technical support of sppecial experts' commitees made up by representatives of the 27 member States of the EU. The relevant consultation procedure, named “comitology”, has deeply changed as of 1^th March 2011, with the entry into force of the EU Regulation n. 182/2011 of the European Parliament and the Council of 16 February 2011, laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers. These provisions will impact also on the Modernized Community Customs Code (EC Reg. N° 450/2008), as well as on the procedures of adoption of the relevant implementing provisions, currently in course of development on behalf of the EU Commission. Here is the article illustrating the new rules, written togheter with Mauro Giffoni and published on the N° 3/2011 of the technical Journal “Il Doganalista”.

The main instrument used in Italy to coordinate the different bodies that, togheter with the Customs administration, participate to the function of control of the different kinds of imported or exported goods, is represented by specific Manuals and protocols of procedure adopted within Conferences of Services made up by all the interested administrations. Among these manuals and protocols there are the “Manual of procedure for the controls concerning the safety of products” (regulating the control procedures for those goods that are subject to safety controls) and the “CITES Manual". The CITES Manual has been adopted by the Italian Customs for the first time - jointly with the Ministry of Environment and protection of Land, the State Forestal Police and the Ministry for the Economic Development - within the Conference of Services of 7 May 2002. Updated recently within the Conference of Services of 10 May 2011 (extended also to the participation of the Ministry of Health), the CITES Manual containes the instructions addressed to the different offices and bodies of control concerning the procedures to follow to monitor the import, export, re-export, transit and transhipment of the specimen of endangered species of wild fauna and flora covered by the Washington Convention (CITES Convention), included their parts and derived products.

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