Teoria ed empiria della prevenzione generale

This paper presents a comprehensive approach to general prevention, beginning with primary prevention. It critiques the traditional focus on the deterrent function of punishment, exposing its limitations and its alignment with the retributive concept of justice, which fails to provide a sufficient check on punitive power. Instead, the essence of general prevention lies in the penal system’s ability to encourage both citizens and offenders to make autonomous, law-abiding choices. The paper advocates for an integrated perspective that combines general and special prevention, grounded in the principle that the rehabilitative orientation of penalties, as enshrined in Article 27(3) of the Italian Constitution, inherently leads to general prevention. This approach supports the aim of addressing the majority of offenses through non-custodial, prescriptive sanctions.