Networks and Competences · international network
RASI — Network of Foreign Lawyers in Italy
A space for legal information, dialogue and integration between foreign communities and Italian institutions
What is RASI
RASI — Network of Foreign Lawyers in Italy is a project promoted by AGAMI APS with the aim of fostering awareness of the rights and duties of foreign communities living in Italy. The network is made up of lawyers of foreign origin registered with the Italian Bar Associations, who offer their linguistic, cultural and legal expertise to facilitate dialogue between foreign citizens and institutions.
RASI is not a law firm and does not provide individual advice: it is an associative space for legal information and awareness-raising.
- Foreign citizens living in Italy
- Families with legal situations spanning several countries
- Foreign workers
- Businesses with international relations
- Institutions and local authorities
- Local associations
The project's objectives
Six lines of work
Providing information on rights
Knowledge of the fundamental rights of foreign citizens living in Italy: employment, family law, protection of minors, access to social and health services, immigration regulations and protection against discrimination. Knowing your rights is the first step towards exercising them with awareness.
Providing information on duties
Integration pathways also based on awareness of the duties laid down by the Italian legal system: tax obligations, residence rules, schooling obligations for minor children, rules on property relations including in transnational contexts.
Explaining how legal systems interact
Clarifying how Italian rules relate to those of the countries of origin: separations and divorces, successions, employment relationships built up in several States, recognition of measures adopted abroad.
Acting as a bridge to the institutions
Fostering dialogue between foreign communities and Italian institutions — municipalities, prefectures, police headquarters, consulates, courts and professional bodies — through information activities and opportunities for discussion.
Promoting dialogue between legal cultures
Promoting mutual knowledge and respect between different legal systems, regarding them as a resource for society and for integration.
Overcoming language barriers
Informative materials in several languages to make legal information genuinely accessible to the main foreign communities in Italy: reducing the language gap makes access to justice and services more tangible.
Who belongs to the network
The RASI network is made up of lawyers of foreign origin duly registered with the Italian Bar Associations, of various nationalities and with expertise in many areas of law: family, employment, civil, criminal, commercial and immigration law.
They are professionals who know not only the Italian legal system but also that of the countries of origin of the communities they represent. The lawyers take part in the project with full professional independence and in compliance with the Italian Code of Conduct for Lawyers.
- Publishes multilingual information materials
- Organises information meetings within communities
- Promotes free information desks
- Fosters dialogue between institutions and foreign citizens
- It does not provide individual legal advice
- It does not represent individuals before institutions
- It does not refer people to specific professionals
The AGAMI networks
RASI grew out of the experience of RAMI and is complementary to the Network of Competences.