The Polarization of the Italian Criminal Law System Against Corruption

Abstract

Three important reforms have changed the Italian criminal law provisions against corruption in the last decade in a more repressive sense, based on rampant penal populism. However, with this scenario in the background, a second countertrend emerges which has so far been little explored. This is a trend due to the progressive come into effect of reward mechanisms for procedural cooperation which can significantly reduce or completely exclude the punishment. This essay analyses the interaction between these two opposing trends, highlighting the effects of the polarization of the anti-corruption criminal law statutes between repressive and rewards tendencies, and highlighting the critical issues concerning the constitutional principles of offensiveness and proportionality of the punishment of a system in which the punishment it is applied mainly due to non-cooperation, and therefore due to the post facto conduct.