IL DIRITTO PENALE NELLO SCENARIO DEL POST-REGULATORY STATE

The aim of this article is to describe the implications of the transition to the post-regulatory state for criminal law. In this perspective, the author discusses the main trends associated with the transition to the new governance: the repositioning of the state, also linked to globalisation; the "decentring regulation"; the overcoming of the command and control approach in various economic sectors. Criminal law is also deeply involved in these transformations. The article examines some areas in which the criminal system is reflexively oriented and functions as a "governmental technology" (e.g. regulatory offences). According to the author, a partially unprecedented scenario is emerging: criminal (law) governamentality.