Academic literature on the topic 'Customary law – Italy'

SummaryIn its recent decision in Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v Italy: Greece Intervening), the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held that Italy had failed to respect immunities enjoyed by Germany under international law when the Italian courts allowed civil actions to be brought against Germany for alleged violations of international human rights law (IHRL) and the law of armed conflict (LOAC) committed during the Second World War. This article evaluates the three arguments raised by Italy to justify its denial of immunity: first, that peremptory norms of international law prevail over international rules on jurisdictional immunities; second, that customary international law recognizes an exception to immunity for serious violations of IHRL or the LOAC; and third, that customary international law recognizes an exception to immunity for torts committed by foreign armed forces on the territory of the forum state in the course of an armed conflict. The author concludes that the ICJ was correct to find that none of these arguments deprived Germany of its right under international law to immunity from the civil jurisdiction of the Italian courts.

Abstract After uncovering Russian espionage activities on Italian territory, Italy expelled two Russian diplomats allegedly involved in such activities. The Italian decision, as well as the Russian response, offer a classic example of States’ reaction to acts of non-violent espionage. This comment offers a legal assessment of the events that unfolded in March 2021 and takes into account the implications, in matters concerning espionage, of declarations of persona non grata, diplomatic immunity and, generally, customary international law.

Abstract The present article describes the arbitral proceedings in the investment dispute between Italy and Cuba, with special regard for the Final Award rendered in 2008. The arbitration has raised a number of interesting issues in the application of customary international law, including the admissibility of claims in diplomatic protection in investment disputes under a BIT, the application of the rule on the exhaustion of local remedies, the attribution of acts of State-owned enterprises to the State and the use of general international law as a means to interpret treaty provisions defining the scope of the BIT. Some of these aspects have proved particularly controversial, as shown by the thorough dissenting opinion attached by arbitrator Tanzi, and they are critically analysed. The arbitration confirms the profound interdependence of bilateral treaties and customary international law in international investment arbitration.

Abstract In the judgment delivered in the case concerning Jurisdictional Immunities of the State (Germany v. Italy), the International Court of Justice held that under the present state of international customary law State immunity encompasses all acta jure imperii, regardless of whether they are unlawful. Following the ruling that States are entitled to jurisdictional immunities before foreign courts even if their sovereign acts amount to violations of peremptory norms, the Court found that Italy had violated Germany’s immunity from jurisdiction and enforcement. In rendering such a conservative judgment, the Court missed a double opportunity: to contribute to the development of international law by interpreting the rule on sovereign immunity in harmony with international human rights law and its dynamics, and to finally serve justice for the victims of war crimes.

Abstract The finding by the International Court of Justice in the case concerning Jurisdictional Immunities of the State that Italy violated its obligation to respect Germany’s immunity from civil jurisdiction comes as no surprise. The anticipated conclusion of the Court is the outcome of the powerful tradition of framing State immunity as a rule to which an exercise of jurisdiction by a domestic court is an exception expressly established under customary international law. As technically faultless as this finding may appear, it sits uncomfortably with deeper, structural developments in international law that challenge the very application of the ‘rule-exceptions’ framework of State immunity. This article questions the underlying assumption upon which the Court’s judgment is premised: that State immunity operates as a predominant rule, to which only exceptions that are established under customary law can apply, and it proposes an alternative understanding of the doctrine of State immunity.

In August 2012, the First Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation (Supreme Court or Court), the highest Italian domestic court, issued a judgment upholding Germany’s sovereign immunity from civil claims brought by Italian war crime victims against Paul Albers and eight others in the Italian courts (Albers). In so doing, the Court overruled its own earlier decisions and also reversed the judgment of April 20, 2011, by the Italian Military Court of Appeal (Military Court), which had upheld such claims relating to war crimes committed by German forces in Italy during World War II. With this ruling, the Court of Cassation put an end to its decade long effort to find an exception to the well-known rule of customary international law providing for sovereign immunity from foreign civil jurisdiction for actsjure imperii. Thisrevirementresulted from the Court’s decision to give effect to the judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) inGermany v. Italy.

The dispute between Italy and India on the Enrica Lexie incident has finally been decided by the Award handed down on 21 May 2020 by the Arbitral Tribunal to which the Parties had referred the case. After having concluded that it had jurisdiction on the issue of the immunity of the two Italian marines involved in the case at hand, the majority judgment (by three votes to two) affirmed that under customary international law the latter enjoyed functional immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of India. This article will argue that the Arbitral Tribunal’s conclusions are unconvincing, first and foremost, considering that, based on State practice, it is not possible to affirm without reservations that a settled customary rule exists under international law conferring immunity to all State officials, and regardless of the type of functions they perform. In fact, immunity has often been recognized as applying only to certain categories of State officials, and on the basis of the governmental nature of the functions they perform on behalf of the State. Given the doubtful existence under customary international law of a clear rule establishing the functional immunity of all State officials, for all the acts performed in the exercise of their functions, this article argues that the Arbitral Tribunal should have firstly ascertained the existence of a specific customary rule on the immunity of the military abroad, together with the exact content of such rule and, secondly, whether this was applicable in the case of the Enrica Lexie. As current practice stands, military forces abroad are entitled to immunity only under specific circumstances, which do not seem to occur in the present case. In particular, this article maintains that the Italian marines were not entitled to functional immunity. While the acts they performed did indeed fall within their typical functions, they were exercised on behalf of a private subject and not on behalf of the Italian State.

The ICJ judgment concerning jurisdictional immunities of the State (Germany v. Italy) is disappointing both for its general approach and for its legal grounds. It shows a traditional, positivistic, conservative and state-centered conception of international law and does not offer any opening towards a progressive development of such law. Moreover some legal arguments of the Court are not convincing. In particular, the Court does not deepen the main issue of the dispute, that is, the possible conflict between the customary norm on foreign State immunity and the customary norms on prohibitions of war crimes and of crimes against humanity by all States, which belong to ius cogens. But the Court avoids dealing with the problem of ius cogens, by simply stating that there is no conflict between the former and the latter norms, because "the two sets of rules address different matters". This argument is quite formalistic and is not convincing, because the procedural character of the rule on immunity does not prevent the judge from dealing with the merits of the dispute, by establishing the nature of the State conduct and the possible existence of an exception to immunity. In any case, the argument of the Court could have been overcome by maintaining that: 1) contemporary international law provides for two customary rules giving the individual victim a right of access to justice and a right to obtain reparation when he suffered war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by a State; 2) these rules do not have, usually, a peremptory character, but they become peremptory when they are absolutely the only means to redress the breach of a ius cogens rule, such as the prohibition of war crimes and of crimes against humanity; 3) in such a case, there is a true conflict between the instrumental and peremptory rules on access to justice and reparation and the rule on State immunity; 4) this conflict cannot be avoided by saying that the two sets of rules address different matters; 5) the conflict should be solved through the predominance of the rules on access to justice and reparation over the rule on State immunity, because customary norms of ius cogens prevail over simple customary norms. Perhaps the International Court of Justice was not ready to accept these arguments, which aim at strengthening the role of human rights, of the individual and of ius cogens in contemporary international law. But the Court could, at least, have dealt more closely with them and paid some attention to the progressive development of international law.

The International Court of Justice rendered four judgments in 2012: on February 3, a ruling on the merits inJurisdictional Immunities of the State(Germany v. Italy; Greece intervening), finding that Italy had violated its obligations under customary international law and requiring Italy to ensure that the decisions of its judicial authorities that infringed Germany’s immunities would cease to have effect; on June 19, a ruling on the compensation owed by the respondent inDiallo(Guinea v. Democratic Republic of the Congo), awarding Guinea $85,000 for non material injury to Diallo and $10,000 for material injury to his personal property;on July 20, a ruling on jurisdiction, admissibility, and the merits inQuestions Relating to the Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite(Belgium v. Senegal), finding jurisdiction and admissibility, and holding that Senegal had breached its obligations under Articles 6 and 7 the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT); and on November 19, a ruling on admissibility and the merits inTerritorial and Maritime Dispute(Nicaragua v. Colombia), finding admissible one of Nicaragua’s final submissions(which Colombia had challenged as a new claim), deciding that Colombia has sovereignty over a number of contested maritime features, and establishing a single maritime boundary delimiting the continental shelf and exclusive economic zones of the two countries.

Abstract This paper considers the way in which Italian authorities introduced jurisprudence of the Court of Appeals as a source of law in Libya from 1911 to 1943. Aimed at resolving the tensions that resulted from the interplay between local customs, Islamic law, and the Italian legal codes, such a recourse to jurisprudence was a clear departure from Italy’s own code-based legal system. This judicial innovation was also a change from the practices introduced in British and French colonies, where the codification of a hybrid European-local law had become the norm. Divided into three parts—jurisprudence as source of law in Italy, its uses in the colonies, and jurisprudence in practice (through the analysis of the sentences on shuf ʿa, the customary right of pre-emption)—this article illustrates Italian jurisprudential law in Libya as an example of the theoretical problems and practical advantages of legal pluralism in a colonial context. Cet article examine comment les autorités italiennes ont introduit la jurisprudence émanant de la Cour d’appel en tant que source de droit en Libye de 1911 à 1943. Destiné à résoudre les tensions qui ont résulté de l’interaction entre les coutumes locales, le droit islamique et les codes juridiques italiennes, un tel recours à la jurisprudence était clairement une rupture avec le système basé sur les codes juridiques en usage en Italie. Cette innovation judiciaire était également différente des pratiques introduites dans les colonies britanniques et française, où la codification d’un hybride euro-locale était devenue la norme. Divisé en trois parties—la jurisprudence comme source de droit en Italie, ses utilisations dans les colonies, et la jurisprudence dans la pratique (à travers l’analyse des décisions sur le shuf ʿa, droit coutumier de préemption)—cet article illustre le droit jurisprudentiel italien en Libye comme un exemple des problèmes théoriques et des avantages pratiques du pluralisme juridique dans un contexte colonial.

Tomando como punto de partida la obra de Antonio Pigliaru La vendetta barbaricina come ordinamento giuridico (1959), este trabajo estudia la cultura jurídica vindicatoria contemporánea de los pastores de Barbagia, las montañas centrales de la isla de Cerdeña. Referencia y clásico indiscutible, la obra de este jurista de la propia región no tiene parangón en cuanto a dimensión, profundidad y densidad en el estudio de este caso concreto, y al mismo tiempo por la concreción en el establecimiento del sistema vindicatorio como ordenamiento social y jurídico. Sin embargo, su trabajo no parece haber tenido continuidad y sigue muy presente el prejuicio etnocéntrico y evolucionista que reduce la venganza de sangre a un fenómeno prejurídico y de justicia privada. Sólo muy recientemente (Terradas 2008) su aportación ha sido revisada críticamente como merece en términos comparativos y de Antropología jurídica. La constatación de esta discontinuidad ha llevado a preguntarnos sobre la forma y las condiciones de la persistencia de esta cultura jurídica vindicatoria, sugerida por la existencia hasta la actualidad de homicidios vindicativos. Pese a la recurrencia histórica de determinadas instituciones y mecanismos consuetudinarios de mediación, arbitraje y pacificación, el trabajo de Pigliaru deja entrever pero no consolida ni formaliza los procedimientos para la composición de los conflictos y la reconciliación, constatados etnográfica e históricamente en otros sistemas vindicatorios. Esta ausencia es una de las principales cuestiones que planteamos en el trabajo. Los pilares de la investigación son el trabajo de campo, el análisis de casos judiciales y el estudio de la Antropología e Historia social y jurídica de Barbagia. El trabajo de campo ha sentado las bases para la comprensión de las formas de la sociabilidad barbarichina, especialmente la rígida costumbre de la hospitalidad en relación a los regímenes de amistad y enemistad, la vecindad o el parentesco espiritual. La perspectiva histórica sobre el Derecho consuetudinario, los contratos de pastoreo, las formas de propiedad y el parentesco, por su parte, nos han permitido establecer la especificidad etnográfica de la montaña sarda. Finalmente, el estudio directo y en profundidad de dos expedientes judiciales sobre sendas faide (encadenamientos de venganzas) de las pasadas décadas, complementados indirectamente con otros casos conocidos por crónicas periodísticas o estudios secundarios, nos llevan a constatar la continuidad y persistencia de la cultura jurídica vindicatoria de Barbagia. El trabajo concluye sugiriendo las razones de esta persistencia, que parece ir asociada a un desplazamiento y reducción del ámbito de la sociabilidad y la comunidad, y por tanto de la solidaridad, la reciprocidad, la hospitalidad y, en última instancia, de los mecanismos para resolver y componer los conflictos y las ofensas. La adaptación exitosa contemporánea de la economía de pastoreo, que se ha expandido en detrimento de la agricultura, ha pasado por el establecimiento de la empresa ganadera sedentaria y consiguientemente por un reforzamiento del vínculo entre hermanos varones: el éxito de la “empresa” pecuaria, cada vez más basada en la propiedad privada y adaptada a los ritmos y las formas de la economía capitalista, exige unos resultados que han llevado a ese reforzamiento, puesto que son los hermanos varones quienes heredan y conducen el ganado. Se habría pasado de una solidaridad de parentesco más amplia a una reducción agnaticia que relega a las mujeres, históricamente principales activadoras de la reciprocidad y custodias de la hospitalidad entre las casas, contrae el ámbito más extenso de la solidaridad de parentesco e impide la activación de los mecanismos de prevención, composición y reconciliación. En resumen, persiste la economía y la cultura del pastoreo pero sin estos mecanismos, decantando la balanza hacia la vindicta cruenta, lo que explicaría el desencadenamiento más virulento y desenfrenado de venganzas en las últimas décadas.
This is a study on the contemporary vindicatory justice of the shepherds in the inland Sardinian highlands. The starting point is the classical work by Antonio Pigliaru La vendetta barbaricina come ordinamento giuridico (1959). Despite its indisputable relevance, both as a case study and as recognition and establishment of vendetta in Barbagia as a vindicatory system, this study has had no continuity. Evolutionary and ethnocentric prejudices about vendetta as a pre­legal and private justice system persist even in the Sardinian highlands. Only recently has Pigliaru's work been critically reviewed as it deserves in terms of Comparative and Legal Anthropology (Terradas 2008). This thesis aims at checking the present validity of Pigliaru's findings against new ethnographic evidence. Many present vindictive homicides show the persistence of vindicatory customary law. How has this system persisted until nowadays? We may say that Pigliaru, despite historical evidence, didn't give artibration and pacification institutions its due, while he oversized vindictive resolutions. But there is also ethnographic and historical evidence of blood­feud spreading during the last decades. So the main issue here is the disappearance of composition and reconciliation procedures, demonstrated as universals by ethnography. The basic pillars of this research are: field work on sociability and hospitality in relation to amity and feud regimes, analysis of some court cases on homicides occurred during de 1980s, and the study of Social and Legal Anthropology and History of Sardinia. Its main goal is the verification of persistence of vindicatory customary law in relation to the displacement and reduction of the scope of sociability and community life. Accordingly we ultimately confirm the reduction of the extent of solidarity, reciprocity and hospitality, and, consequently, of the mechanisms to resolve and compose conflicts and offenses. The successful contemporary adaptation to the grazing economy, which has expanded to the detriment of agriculture, required the establishment of a sedentary livestock enterprise and consequently a strengthening of the bond between male brothers. The success of the livestock "business", increasingly based on private property and adapted to the rhythms and forms of the capitalist economy, demands results that have led to this reinforcement, since it is the male brothers who inherit and grow the cattle. A shift would have taken place away from the solidarity of a wider kinship sphere towards an agnatic reduction that relegates women ­historically the main activators of reciprocity and custodians of hospitality among houses­, contracts the broader scope of kinship solidarity and hinders the activation of prevention, composition and reconciliation mechanisms.

Defence date: 29 November 1991
Examining board: Prof. B. de Witte, I.U.E., superviseur ; Prof. L.M. Diez-Picazo, I.U.E. ; Prof. J.C. Escarras, Toulon ; Prof. A. Pizzorusso, Pise ; T. Renoux, Aix-Marseille ; Prof. M. de Villiers, Nantes
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017

This chapter discusses the law of set-off in Italy. Under Italian law, set-off is recognised as a mechanism for extinguishing an obligation. The Civil Code classifies set-off by operation of law, by intervention of the judge, or by the will of the parties. The Code also lays down particular rights of combination with regard to amounts credited and debited to current accounts, as well as specific rights of set-off with regard to balances of a plurality of accounts or other relationships between a bank and its customer. The chapter first provides an overview of legal and contractual set-off between solvent parties before analysing set-off against insolvent parties. It examines the relevant provisions of the Italian Bankruptcy Law and the question of voidable preferences with respect to set-off. It also looks at issues arising from cross-border set-off between solvent parties and cross-border set-off against insolvent parties.

AbstractThis chapter first recapitulates the state of affairs as to the principle of state immunity and why exceptions from jurisdictional immunity for gross violations of human rights and humanitarian law are not recognized. It explores customary law and the global compensation treaty between Germany and Italy. Both indicate that Italy would be obligated to indemnify Germany from individual claims raised before Italian courts.In a second step, the development towards individual rights in public international law will be taken up. It appears that human beings are increasingly recognized as holders of individual claims but, apart from human rights treaty systems, lack the capacity under international law to invoke their rights before courts. Instead, they depend on their home states, which have standing but are not entitled to waive the individual rights of their citizens.In order to reconcile the seemingly antagonistic regimes of state immunity and claim settlement, prospects for a friendly solution of the present dilemma will be assessed. Against the background of cases pending before Italian courts, it will be examined whether the distinction between jurisdictional immunity and immunity from execution opens up a way out of the impasse, which the two states and private capital could pursue, and whether this solution would create a precedent for other similar constellations.Lastly, some concluding remarks will address lessons to be learnt for future conflicts. They will deal with elements of a general regime of compensation, drawing from the experience of both past reparation schemes and the experience of reconciliation in post-totalitarian societies. Such elements could be a duty to seek bona fide settlements, possible consequences of violations for domestic court proceedings, methods of assessing damages inspired by mass claim processing, the categorization of claims according to the gravity of violations, rules on evaluating evidence, procedures to give victims a say, and appropriate forms of monetary and non-pecuniary compensation including the necessary institutional framework.

AbstractThis chapter argues not only that there is no European Sonderweg (or ‘special way’) when it comes to the law of state immunity but that there ought not to be one. Debates within The Hague Conference on Private International Law in the late 1990s and those leading to the adoption of the 2002 UN Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States, as well as the development of the EU Brussels Regulation on Jurisdiction and Enforcement, as amended in 2015, all demonstrate that state immunity was not meant to be limited by such treaties but ‘safeguarded’. Likewise, there is no proof that regional European customary law limits state immunity when it comes to ius cogens violations, as Italy and (partly) Greece are the only European states denying state immunity in such cases while the European Court of Human Rights has, time and again, upheld a broad concept of state immunity. It therefore seems unlikely that in the foreseeable future a specific European customary law norm on state immunity will develop, especially given the lack of participation in such practice by those states most concerned by the matter, including Germany. This chapter considers the possible legal implications of the jurisprudence of the Italian Constitutional Court for European military operations (if such operations went beyond peacekeeping). These implications would mainly depend on the question of attribution: if one where to assume that acts undertaken within the framework of military operations led by the EU were to be, at least also, attributable to the troop-contributing member states, the respective troop-contributing state would be entitled to enjoy state immunity exactly to the same degree as in any kind of unilateral military operations. Additionally, some possible perspectives beyond Sentenza 238/2014 are examined, in particular concerning the redress awarded by domestic courts ‘as long as’ neither the German nor the international system grant equivalent protection to the victims of serious violations of international humanitarian law committed during World War II. In the author’s opinion, strengthening the jurisdiction of international courts and tribunals, bringing interstate cases for damages before the International Court of Justice, as well as providing for claims commissions where individual compensation might be sought for violations of international humanitarian law would be more useful and appropriate mechanisms than denying state immunity.

AbstractThe main consequence of Sentenza 238/2014 is that Germany has been denied jurisdictional immunities before Italian courts. However, the inflexible conception of the right of access to courts adopted by the Corte Costituzionale gives rise to a number of questions that go well beyond the issue at stake in Judgment 238/2014. First, there is the issue of whether the right of access to justice should also prevail over the international customary rule on immunity from execution. Secondly, one may ask whether the need to protect the right provided by Article 24 of the Italian Constitution could trump the criteria established by Italian law for exercising civil jurisdiction in order to allow access to justice in respect to all international crimes, even those committed outside Italian territory and involving individuals having no link to Italy. Finally, there is the question of whether a sacrifice of the right of access to justice would be justified if alternative, non-judicial means of redress were available to the victims; in particular, whether an alternative means of redress should in any case ensure to each and every individual victim full compensation or whether instead, in light of the specific circumstances of the case—the fact that the crimes occurred in the course of an international armed conflict affecting hundreds of thousands of victims—such alternative means could provide only symbolic compensation based on a lump sum settlement. This chapter aims at exploring these and possibly other issues arising in connection to the broad interpretation of the principle of access to justice given by the Corte Costituzionale.

Cluster analysis has for long been an effective tool for analysing data. Thus, several disciplines, such as marketing, psychology and computer sciences, just to mention a few, did take advantage from its contribution over time. Traditionally, this kind of algorithm concentrates only on numerical or categorical data at a time. In this work, instead, we analyse a dataset composed of mixed data, namely both numerical than categorical ones. More precisely, we focus on profiling visitors of the National Park of Majella in the Abruzzo region of Italy, which observations are characterized by variables such as gender, age, profession, expectations and satisfaction rate on park services. Applying a standard clustering procedure would be wholly inappropriate in this case. Therefore, we hereby propose an unsupervised classification of mixed data, a specific procedure capable of processing both numerical than categorical variables simultaneously, releasing truly precious information. In conclusion, our application therefore emphasizes how cluster analysis for mixed data can lead to discover particularly informative patterns, allowing to lay the groundwork for an accurate customers profiling, starting point for a detailed marketing analysis.

This chapter evaluates the social representations of historic European capital cities, comparing it before and after the first-time visit that took place in the period from 2011 to 2013. Based on the set of empirical data, it presents and discusses the integrative framework for evaluation of a city conceived as a resource in responsible urban tourism. In particular, the social representations of Madrid, London, and Warsaw by 420 visitors from seven different EU and non-EU countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States) are examined according to the modelling approach to the theory of social representations, focusing on the evaluative dimension present in an implicit and explicit way. Understanding how tourists assess the resource that they access, based on previous knowledge as opposed to direct experience, shall lay ground for enabling the policy makers and city planners to take into account the expectations of visitors while pursuing urban tourism development in the geo-cultural locations of European capital cities.

To be successful exporters, SMEs have to penetrate foreign markets rapidly, at low cost, maintaining control of core technologies and products, while adapting product features to local customer requirements and preferences. Entrepreneurs have to find and evaluate potential partners, overcoming differences in business cultures and their ignorance of foreign accounting rules. Internationalization has deep and relevant implications in effective human resources management. In fact, the expansion of the firms allows the creation of new job opportunities both in the home country and abroad. This process could be seen as a solution, or better as mitigation, for the current problem of unemployment that our society has to face in this period of crisis. SMEs need to be supported in their expansion abroad. In Italy, public and private agencies provide services to achieve this. The aim of this chapter is to analyze how they operate, what services they provide, and how much they support enterprises. As a case study, the authors examine services provided by Chinese agencies because China is one of the most active countries in international markets. Italian and Chinese agencies are compared focusing on the existing standard services provided and their customization according to specific domain needs. Finally, the authors present a global view of today’s scenario to define future directions of current internationalized services.

The ever increasing energy demand on conventional natural gas and oil fuels has made the need much more important to use low BTU fuels to the maximum possible both in terms of economics as well as environmental well being. To this extent, Ansaldo Energia has made a major contribution to the development of advanced technology to burning various low BTU fuels in heavy duty gas turbines. Currently, Ansaldo Energia has four major low BTU projects dealing with IGCC technology as well as various steel mill gases. Each of these projects has its own features which all in all give a wide range of experience in development and operation of gas turbine fired with low BTU fuels. The gas turbines used in the projects were all manufactured by Ansaldo Energia and were of the V94.2K type. To date the units have accumulated over 150,000 EOH on low BTU fuels. The paper illustrates the design characteristics of the combustion systems installed at ISAB Priolo 500MW IGCC plant (Italy) and Elettra Servola 180MW (Italy) as well as the development of the systems to allow the successful operation of the plants. The paper will also touch up on: • The Eni Power Ferrera Erbognone 250MW IGCC plant (Italy) where the syngas burner development test campaign has shown very promising results and the plant is expected to start operation in December 2005. • The experience achieved on Buggenum Power Plant where at the request of the customer Ansaldo has improved the current burner to operate on uniquely available syngas fuel only. Ansaldo developed a new design of the current burner. The paper focuses on the main critical aspects of the development were overcome and to highlight the state of art achieved by Ansaldo Energia in this field.

Fuel flexibility is a key feature for Dry Low NOx (DLN) combustors, which shall be capable of accepting a wider range of fuel compositions to meet more and more challenging requests from the Oil and Gas market segment (upstream and downstream applications). Non-methane hydrocarbons (C2+) are one of the main targets of GE Oil & Gas efforts to enlarge the fuel flexibility of DLN combustors, as they are often present in high concentration in fuel gas streams that customers would like their gas turbine to be fed with. The main concerns with such fuel gases in DLN combustor are: the risks of flashback, hardware overheating, increased combustion dynamics and NOx emission, ignition in unexpected locations (with potential damage of the combustor, operability issues and impact on durability). In order to assess the capability of the current Frame 5 DLN1 hardware design with high C2+ fuels, a single can full pressure test campaign was conducted on a full size DLN1 combustor at Sesta Combustion Lab (Italy). The combustion chamber was successfully tested in premix mode up to 50%v. of ethane content, observing safe and reliable operation with regard to the above mentioned risks. Special tests were carried out in both Premix and Lean-Lean operating modes, in order to verify the ability of the combustor to maintain a stable and harmless flame and assess the operability margins in the different operating conditions of the combustor. Tests demonstrated a good margin already with the current design. After optimizing the air flow path, the expected performances also in terms of NOx and CO emissions and combustion dynamics were achieved in the investigated ethane content range. These tests outcomes allowed a paramount enlargement of the Frame 5 DLN1 capability in terms of acceptable C2+ concentration in fuel gas.

Allison Engine Company has introduced a dry low emissions lean premixed combustion system, designated LE4, for the 501-K series industrial gas turbine engines. The design goals were 1) to develop a retrofittable combustion system which limits exhaust gas emission levels to less than 25 ppm NOx, 50 ppm CO and 20 ppm UHC while operating on natural gas fuel at full load conditions, and 2) to maintain system cost to less than that for alternate control methods. Extensive in-house engine tests were completed to ensure successful combustion system operation including acceptable engine transient operation during load dumps, and also to optimize the window of operation for emissions performance. These tests have demonstrated engine emissions levels which are below the goals, with NOx less than 15 ppm, CO less than 20 ppm, and UHC less than 10 ppm, all corrected to 15% O2. These emissions can be maintained at the target levels for engine operation from 85 to 100% power. For applications requiring wider power operation, a diffuser bleed system has been engine demonstrated which maintains less than 25 ppm NOx, 50 ppm CO and 25 ppm UHC from 50 to 100% power. The combustion system employs a dual mode combustion approach to meet engine operability requirements and emissions targets. The control algorithm developed for the LE4 combustion system allows easy tailoring of the pilot-to-main fuel ratio schedule setting to meet the customer needs on a site by site basis to account for different ranges of ambient conditions. Use of Streamwise Oriented Effusion Cooling (SOEC) design in the liner wall met the maximum wall temperature goals of less than 1650°F. The LE4 combustion system is operating currently in two applications: 501-KC5 ANR Pipeline application in Woodstock, IL, and 501-KB7 Cogeneration application in Scandiano, Italy. Measured emissions over time and a range of ambients in these engines show NOx, CO and UHC results which are better than the goals. The 501-KC5 engine has accumulated more than 3500 hours, and the 501-KB7 engine has accumulated more than 5500 hours. Both sites have been running with problem free operation, and borescope inspections have indicated excellent condition of the combustion systems.

GE Energy’s new gas turbine, the MS5002E, is a 30 MW-class industrial gas turbine for mechanical drive and power generation applications. The MS5002E (fig.1) is the latest in the Frame5 two-shaft family and, while it retains some features from previous versions, the machine has been specifically designed for low environmental impact and high reliability, in direct response to customer demand for high efficiency and availability [1] & [2]. Main features for the MS5002E are: • 32 MW base load power at ISO inlet conditions (no losses); • 36% thermal efficiency; • 11-stage axial compressor and 17:1 pressure ratio; • reverse flow, six cans, Dry Low NOx (DLN2 technology) combustion system; • two-stages reaction type HP turbine; • two-stages PT leveraged from the LM2500+ HSPT (High Speed Power Turbine); • HP speed operating range 90% (6709rpm) / 101% (7529rpm); • PT speed operating range 50% (2857rpm) / 105% (6000rpm); • exhaust gas temperature (EGT): ∼510°C; • two-baseplates configuration (gas turbine flange-to-flange unit and auxiliary system); • integrated enclosure and baseplate, providing maximum accessibility for maintenance. The design of the MS5002E has been validated through an extensive test program which has included some key-test rigs such as the Rotordynamic Test, the CTV Test (full-scale axial compressor test) and numerous component and full-scale combustion tests in laboratory, conducted in advance of the First Engine to Test (FETT). The MS5002E First Engine to Test was initially started in January 2003 and the validation program has been completed with a full gas turbine teardown, dirty layout (visual and dimensional inspections for each major gas turbine component in as-is conditions) and NDT inspection in June 2004. During engine teardown, disassembly/assembly procedures and tools have been tested and validated. Additional endurance and operability testing is ongoing and will be completed by the end of 2005. The First Engine to Test is a complete equivalent-to-production package including gas turbine, auxiliaries and control system. For the test, a dedicated plateau has been built in Massa, Italy [3]. The gas turbine has been equipped with over 1400 direct measurement points (for a total of more than 2400 direct and indirect measurements) covering the flange-to flange, the package and auxiliaries. All critical-to-quality parameters, such as turbine gas path components temperatures and stresses, combustor temperatures and dynamics, performances and emissions, have been carefully verified by means of redundant instrumentation. This paper presents how the test program has been built on the GE Energy NPI (New Product Introduction) Development Process and how results from tests are fed back to the gas turbine design process. The paper discusses test rig and facilities layout, gas turbine operation experience and lessons learned. Results from the tests and measurements are also discussed.