Fascismo e direito penal na Itália: un esboço

Given the recent emergence of debates about the real nature of fascist criminal law and the role played by legal scholars during fascism, Emilia Musumeci sets out to answer the following questions: what were the fascist characteristics perceived in criminal law at the time? How did they manifest themselves? To this end, the author discusses possible interpretations and implications of Arturo Rocco's purposes in his technicist approach that permeated the Italian penal code of 1930 and the way in which the principle of legality was adopted by fascist criminal law in relation to the way the code Zanardelli adopted her. Giuseppe Maggiore's theory is adopted to demonstrate how legality was used in fascism differently than in a democratic legal system. It is also discussed how the criminal legislation adopted by the fascist regime and the way in which the crimes are arranged in the Rocco code point to the exaltation of certain fascist values. Musumeci concludes that fascist legislation cannot be seen as a mere parenthesis. On the one hand, there is a discontinuity between fascist and liberal criminal law, enhanced by legal technicality and corroborated by the specificities of that law - such as the adoption of the principles of the Positive School that were of interest to the fascist authoritarian project - and the moral values it encompasses. On the other hand, there are several elements of continuity.