The course program for attending students explores the side effects of criminal law, focusing on both the decision to criminalize behavior and the application of punishment in individual cases, affecting both personal and collective spheres. Students will thus engage with the issue of the legitimacy of punishment from a contemporary and innovative perspective. The course begins with a terminological and conceptual framework, followed by an analysis of the dogmatic and practical rationales that have often overshadowed the issue of punishment’s collateral consequences in modern criminal theory. It will then proceed with an examination of current laws, covering both individual and corporate punishment scenarios, in our legal system as well as in foreign legal systems. In this context, students will analyze regulatory mechanisms and decision-making techniques aimed at mitigating the collateral effects of punishment, supported by case studies. The course concludes by addressing the principled reasons for minimizing collateral effects at the constitutional level, considering this as a factor in the delegitimization of penal interventions, with special emphasis on the role of the principle of proportionality.

The required texts differ for attending and non-attending students.

For NON-attending students: D. Pulitanò (ed.), Diritto penale. Parte speciale. Vol. I, Tutela penale della persona, third edition, 2019, Torino, Giappicchelli, pp. 1-337.
Anyone wishing to prepare for the exam using a different textbook or for specific reasons needs to arrange the exam, please contact the instructor via email.

For attending students, the required text is M. Galli, Gli effetti collaterali della pena, Torino, Giappichelli (2024). A PDF version will be provided by the instructor. Additional study materials (mainly court rulings, particularly relevant for class presentations) will be announced during lectures and published on Moodle.