Criminal Reform and the Construction of the Fascist State

The fascist government abandoned the Ferri Project of 1921 and presented the new code as a mere reform of the penal code of 1889. In addition, the topic of the continuity of tradition played a most crucial role in the codification process. The school of legal thought under the aegis of which the new code was developed was called ‘neo-classical’, and traditional penalties were not only maintained, but actually given further emphasis by the fascist legislators. However, before analysing the significance of penalties and of the neo-classical school for the fascist repressive system (chapter 4), it is necessary to tackle a preliminary question: why did the fascist regime keep a criminal code instead of simply adopting the Ferri Project, easily adaptable to the repressive necessities of a strong, authoritarian, state? In this section, I argue that the reasons were strategic, ideological and cultural. In the course of the analysis, it will become apparent that criminal codification became, in fact, a central element in the construction of the fascist state.

Criminal reform was, first of all, part of a general strategy for the seizure of the state by the fascist militants. This is particularly well illustrated by the role of Alfredo Rocco in the state reform during the 1920s. Historians of fascism have indeed been unanimous in according great importance to the role of Alfredo Rocco in that process.