Italy has enacted Legislative Decree No. 160 of 9 September 2026. The decree was published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana, Serie Generale No. 214, on 15 September 2026 under redaction code 26G00179. The official publication note records entry into force on 30 September 2026. This is the final published text in force from that date, not a draft, a scheme approved for review, or a consultation.
The stated object of Decreto legislativo 9 settembre 2026, n. 160 is the adaptation of Italian national law to Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence, in the matters of the use of artificial intelligence systems for policing activity and of civil and criminal liability. The operative provisions therefore run across three subjects: police use of AI systems, civil liability, and criminal liability. Obligations should be read from the decree as published in Serie Generale No. 214, which is the controlling text.
Providers and deployers of artificial intelligence systems placed on the market or put into service in Italy now sit under Italian civil and criminal liability rules layered on top of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, which applies directly. Italian police authorities that acquire or operate AI systems come within the policing provisions from 30 September 2026. Companies running AI-assisted decision systems in Italy, together with the insurers writing their liability cover and the counterparties taking contractual indemnities from them, need the Italian position assessed, because the EU Regulation does not itself settle national criminal exposure.
The operative date is 30 September 2026, leaving a short window from the 15 September 2026 publication. Entities relying on compliance work already done for Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 should not assume the Italian decree adds nothing, because the Regulation leaves criminal liability and much of civil liability to Member State law. The precise offences, defences and allocations of liability turn on the article text as published, which should be read in the official Gazzetta Ufficiale version rather than in secondary summaries.
Licentium advises AI providers, deployers, investors and insurers on how EU-level artificial intelligence obligations interact with national implementing law across Member States. Work we undertake includes reading national implementing decrees against Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, allocating civil and criminal exposure between providers and deployers in contracts, and preparing Italian-facing compliance positions before entry into force.