[Solidarity in the responsibilities of machine manufacturers and shoemakers]

The purpose of this article is to give a general frame of the relationship existing between safety legislation for workplaces and the legislation connected to the CE marking and declaration of conformity for machinery, as provided by the new Directive 2006/42/EC and its Italian implementation (D.L. 17/2010). The main aim is to highlight the issues which, joining their efforts, the manufacturers of work tools and machinery should face in order to avoid disputes, seizures and/or legal procedures. The intersection between the two legal sources can sometimes become complex, although both the law and the controlling institutions intervene to offer possible answers. In such context the necessity for a careful re-examination of the relationship between machine builders and users becomes clear, especially as to the methods of designing and testing, the terms of contract, the conditions of manteinance, installation and updating.