Si pubblica qui, con alcune modifiche, il testo della relazione tenuta al convegno del 17 dicembre 2014 organizzato presso il Tribunale civile di Roma da AGI Lazio, Magistratura Democratica e Rivista Giuridica del lavoro e della previdenza sociale, su: “Il danno nel diritto del lavoro: funzione risarcitoria e dissuasiva”. Lo scritto è in corso di pubblicazione in AA. VV., Il danno nel diritto del lavoro. Funzione risarcitoria e dissuasiva, Ediesse, Roma, 2015, p. 163 ss.
The Author examines the difficult affirmation of the principles of dissuasiveness and deterrence of non-pecuniary damage for the victim of employment discrimination in the Italian law system. The paper analyzes the internal transposition of the EU directives on the subject of discrimination, trying to identify the findings on which it is possible to establish an idea of the damage which is not merely compensative for the wrong suffered. Subsequently it focuses on discrimination cases of the Italian labour Courts and points, in general, the lack of compliance with the principle of the primacy of EU law and the duty of consistent interpretation attributed to national judges, on the subject of functions of the damage remedy, identifying, at the same time, some advanced decisions which are more in line with the European legislation and the ECJ's statements. The essay ends with a reflection on how recent changes in procedural legislation (with reference to the special rite estabilished by law n. 92/2012 – the so-called “Fornero Reform” - to claim for the reinstatement remedy as a consequence of null and discriminatory dismissals, according to the first paragraph of Article 18 of the Workers’ Statute) may itself frustrate the full realization of the deterrent effect of damage, limiting the power of assessment of the judge and restricting the use of particular procedural instruments introduced by the directives on discrimination.