Preserving rights and protecting the public: the Italian experience

All along the 1970s Italy has been struck by a wave of terrorist attacks. In fact, Italian terrorism has been, without doubt, the most active in Europe. Therefore, it would not surprise anyone its deep impact on the judicial system: the growth of judicial power in the 1980s and 1990s is strongly related to the development of terrorist activities in the 1970s. The fight against terrorism has deeply involved courts and the judiciary, a fact that has influenced the way the judicial system has later confronted other criminal phenomena like organized crime and political corruption. All these developments cannot be understood without considering the structure of the criminal process. Much of the success of the Italian fight against terrorism has to be ascribed to the original structure of the criminal process, to its quick adaptation to the new challenge and to the resulting strength of judicial powers.