Publications
F. Centonze, L’accertamento della responsabilità penale di amministratori e sindaci in contesti di crisi, in P. Galbiati - A. Negri-Clementi, La governance nelle aziende in crisi, McGraw-Hill Education, 2024
Descrizione mancante
F. Centonze, S. Manacorda (a cura di), Verso una riforma della responsabilità da reato degli enti. Dato empirico e dimensione applicativa, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2023
The introduction of corporate criminal liability, particularly for commercial companies, has had a significant but uneven impact. More than two decades after the enactment of Legislative Decree No. 231/2001, while the issue has been the subject of intense theoretical debate and compliance models have been widely adopted by large companies, its practical enforcement in judicial decisions has been less than satisfactory.
Starting from this premise, this volume aims to explore the reasons for this discrepancy. Drawing on contributions from public and private institutions – including the Ministry of Justice, Confindustria and Assonime – as well as leading experts in the field, it seeks to assess the effectiveness of the system and outline potential avenues for its development.
Divided into key thematic sections, the book adopts a multidisciplinary approach, starting with an empirical and statistical analysis of the adoption of organisational models in Italian companies and the practical application of the legal framework by the judiciary. The study also examines possible reforms to improve the efficiency of the system, ensuring that corporate compliance mechanisms are not merely formalistic, but contribute meaningfully to legal and ethical accountability.
F. Centonze, P. Astorina Marino, Corruzione in atti giudiziari e testimoni. Una revisione critica, in Diritto penale contemporaneo, 3, 2023, pp. 88 – 107
The article examines the question of whether judicial corruption can be imputed to witnesses, critically reassessing the prevailing jurisprudential position that considers a witness to be a public official and, as such, one of the active subjects of the offence under Article 319-ter of the Italian Penal Code.
Through an analysis of the legal foundations and the systemic and criminal policy implications of this interpretation, as well as a comparative examination of selected legal systems of particular interest, the authors argue that the position of the Supreme Court is fundamentally untenable. However, they argue that this does not result in a protection gap, as the case of a ‘corrupt’ witness can be addressed through other offences already provided for in the legal framework.
F. Centonze, La parabola della deterrenza, in C. Piergallini, G. Mannozzi, C. Sotis, C. Perini, M. Scoletta, F. Consulich (a cura di), Studi in onore di Carlo Enrico Paliero, tomo I, Politica criminale e teoria della pena, Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre, Milano, 2022, pp. 295 – 321
The essay addresses the empirical challenges of general prevention and critically examines the complex deterrent mechanism that underpins the deterrent function of criminal law.
F. Centonze, Il crimine dell’«attore decisivo», i limiti della compliance e la prova «certa» della colpa di organizzazione. Riflessioni a margine della sentenza “Impregilo”, in Cassazione Penale, 12, 2022, pp. 4372 – 4400
The introduction of corporate criminal liability, particularly for commercial companies, has had a profound and complex impact. More than two decades after the enactment of Legislative Decree No. 231/2001, the system has been the subject of intense theoretical debate and has led to the widespread adoption of compliance models within large companies. However, its practical application in jurisprudence has been less than satisfactory. Starting from this observation, this volume seeks to explore the reasons for this gap. Drawing on contributions from both public and private institutions – such as the Ministry of Justice, Confindustria and Assonime – as well as leading experts in the field, the research aims to assess the effectiveness of the system and outline potential avenues for improvement. The chapters are structured around key thematic areas, using a multidisciplinary approach that integrates empirical and statistical analysis. These include data on the adoption of organisational models by Italian companies and the practical enforcement of the regulatory framework by the judiciary. The study also considers possible refinements to improve the effectiveness of the system to ensure that corporate compliance mechanisms are not merely formal, but contribute meaningfully to legal and ethical accountability.
F. Centonze, The Imperfect Science: Structural Limits of Corporate Compliance and Co-regulation, in F. Centonze - S. Manacorda (eds.), Corporate Compliance on a Global Scale. Legitimacy and Effectiveness, Springer, Cham, 2021, pp. 45 – 64
This edited volume presents an innovative and critical analysis of corporate compliance from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. It defines the historical framework and the various roles played by corporate compliance in today’s context. It questions how different cultures affect economic behaviors and under which conditions the individual choices may be directed toward law-abiding behavior. Examining corporate compliance as a tool of criminal and regulatory policy strategies in different countries and sectors, this book also aims to provide a picture of the dimension and scope of the public-private partnership, focusing on the prevention and detection of corporate crimes. It analyzes the effects of corporate compliance on the internal organization in terms of cost-benefit assessment, as well as the opportunities in technical innovation for detecting and controlling risk.
F. Centonze, Voce “Prova scientifica e processi d’amianto”, in Enciclopedia del diritto. Reato colposo, Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre, Milano, 2021, pp. 1027 – 1047
Building on the evolving scientific understanding of asbestos hazards and the mechanisms of mesothelioma carcinogenesis, this study focuses primarily on the extraordinary complexity of establishing causation – an issue that has often proved decisive in recent litigation involving occupational asbestos exposure. Within this framework, the discussion addresses the challenge of differential diagnosis in mesothelioma cases, as well as the crucial issue of proving particularistic causation in scenarios involving successive guarantors and, more rarely, in cases of a single employment relationship.
The analysis then critically examines the prevailing jurisprudential approach which, by adopting a zero risk and maximum precaution perspective, compromises the proper reconstruction of the precautionary paradigm and consequently distorts the assessment of culpability. Finally, the extreme difficulty in meeting the standards of proof required in criminal proceedings highlights the continuing tendency in Italy to rely on event-based criminal liability as a means of protecting asbestos victims.
F. Centonze, S. Giavazzi, Le indagini interne: un inventario delle questioni attuali, in F. Centonze - S. Giavazzi (a cura di), Internal Investigations. Best practices e istanze di regolamentazione, Giappichelli Editore, Torino, 2021, pp. XIX – XXX
This volume explores a topic of enduring relevance in corporate practice, one that is rich in legal and criminal policy implications. In organisational life, internal investigations serve as a crucial tool for carrying out routine assessments of the adequacy and effectiveness of compliance, as well as for managing the pathological aspects of collective activity. Despite their practical importance, the scope of internal investigations in Italy is not regulated by specific legislation. Instead, its legal framework is derived by exclusion, shaped by the constraints imposed by labour law, civil law, privacy law, criminal law and criminal procedure. This volume provides a comprehensive theoretical and practical analysis of the many challenges that arise in the initiation and conduct of these essential investigative processes. It examines key aspects such as sources, timelines, actors, decision-making variables, operational practices, outcome management, interactions with regulators and the judiciary, and the normative dynamics that incentivise (or discourage) cooperation. Given its inherently interdisciplinary nature, the topic will be explored by scholars and practitioners from a variety of fields, with particular attention to international experience – especially that of the United States, where internal investigations have a well-established historical and practical basis.
F. Centonze, S. Manacorda, Historical Pollution Comparative Legal Responses to Environmental Crimes, Springer, 2017
This volume examines legal matters regarding the prevention and fighting of historical pollution caused by industrial emissions. Historical pollution refers to the long-term or delayed onset effects of environmental crimes such as groundwater or soil pollution. Historical Pollution presents and compares national legal approaches, including the most interesting and effective mechanisms for managing environmental problems in relation with historical pollution. It features interdisciplinary and international comparisons of traditional and alternative justice mechanisms. This book will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice and related areas, such as politics, law, and economics, those in the public and private sectors dealing with environmental protection, including international institutions, corporations, specialized national agencies, those involved in the criminal justice system, and policymakers.
S. Manacorda, F. Centonze, G. Forti (a cura di), "Preventing Corporate Corruption. The Anti-Bribery Compliance Model", Springer, 2014
The book is the result of an international research project on the topic of bribery and the private sector, and specifically on the role of compliance programs, under the auspices of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and involving the participation of an international team of prominent academic institutions, working under the coordination of the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council of the United Nations (ISPAC),
and in cooperation with Eni. The goal for the project has been to design and make available a unique Anti-Bribery Compliance Model (an ”ABC Model”), based on the results of a serious effort to integrate international best practice in anti-corruption policy with a new set of maximum standard drawn from a combination of empirical observation,concrete business experience, theoretical research and comparative analysis of legal systems and case law. The ABC Model published in this book has therefore been designed to serve as the most advanced set of guidelines for multinational companies in complying with anti-corruption laws, while also comprising a new benchmark for use by national legislators endorsed by international institutions, and consistent with the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in assessing the liability of corporations in the event of corruption.