Editing Italy (section)

=== Law and criminal justice ===
{{Main|Law of Italy|Judiciary of Italy|Law enforcement in Italy}}
[[File:Roma 2011 08 07 Palazzo di Giustizia.jpg|thumb|The [[Supreme Court of Cassation (Italy)|Supreme Court of Cassation]], Rome]]

The law of Italy has several sources. These are hierarchical: the law or regulation from a lower source cannot conflict with the rule of an upper source (hierarchy of sources).<ref>{{Cite web|title=GERARCHIA DELLE FONTI|url=https://www.dirittoeconomia.net/diritto/fonti_diritto/gerarchia_fonti.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117194800/https://www.dirittoeconomia.net/diritto/fonti_diritto/gerarchia_fonti.htm|archive-date=17 January 2022|access-date=26 March 2022|language=it}}</ref> The [[Constitution of Italy|Constitution of 1948]] is the highest source.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Guide to Law Online: Italy |url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/italy.php|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508132418/https://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/italy.php|archive-date=8 May 2021|access-date=26 March 2022|website=loc.gov}}</ref> The [[Constitutional Court of Italy]] rules on the conformity of laws with the constitution. The judiciary bases their decisions on [[Roman law]] modified by the [[Napoleonic Code]] and later statutes. The [[Court of Cassation (Italy)|Supreme Court of Cassation]] is the highest court for both criminal and civil appeals.

Italy lags behind other Western European nations in [[LGBT rights in Italy|LGBT rights]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Country Ranking – Rainbow Europe|url=https://rainbow-europe.org/country-ranking|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521004552/https://rainbow-europe.org/country-ranking|archive-date=21 May 2019|access-date=28 October 2021|website=rainbow-europe.org}}</ref> Italy's law prohibiting torture is considered behind international standards.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Struggle against Torture in Italy – The Failure of the Italian Law – English|url=https://www.menschenrechte.org/en/2018/03/06/the-struggle-against-torture-in-italy-the-failure-of-the-italian-law|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608005803/https://www.menschenrechte.org/en/2018/03/06/the-struggle-against-torture-in-italy-the-failure-of-the-italian-law|archive-date=8 June 2019|access-date=2019-06-08|website=menschenrechte.org}}</ref>

Law enforcement is complex with multiple police forces.<ref name="Walters">{{Cite journal|last=Reece Walters|year=2013|editor2-last=Matthew Ball|editor3-last=Erin O'Brien|editor4-last=Juan Tauri|title=Eco Mafia and Environmental Crime|journal=Crime, Justice and Social Democracy: International Perspectives|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|page=286|doi=10.1057/9781137008695_19|isbn=978-1-3494-3575-3|editor1=Kerry Carrington}}</ref> The national policing agencies are the [[Polizia di Stato]] ('State Police'), the [[Carabinieri]], the [[Guardia di Finanza]] ('Financial Police'), and the [[Polizia Penitenziaria]] ('Prison Police'),<ref name="BuonannoMastrobuoni">{{Cite book|last1=Paulo Buonanno|title=Lessons from the Economics of Crime: What Reduces Offending?|last2=Giovanni Mastrobuoni|publisher=MIT Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-2620-1961-3|editor-last=Philip J. Cook|page=193|chapter=Centralized versus Decentralized Police Hiring in Italy and the United States|doi=10.7551/mitpress/9780262019613.001.0001|editor-last2=Stephen Machin|editor-last3=Olivier Marie|editor-last4=Giovanni Mastrobuoni}}</ref> as well as the [[Guardia Costiera]] ('[[Water police|Coast Guard Police]]').<ref name=Walters/> Although policing is primarily provided on a national basis,<ref name="BuonannoMastrobuoni"/> there are also the [[provincial police|provincial]] and [[Municipal police (Italy)|municipal]] police.<ref name="Walters"/>

Since their appearance in the middle of the 19th century, [[Organized crime in Italy|Italian organised crime]] and criminal organisations have infiltrated the social and economic life of many regions in southern Italy; the most notorious is the Sicilian Mafia, which expanded into foreign countries, including the US. Mafia receipts may reach 9%<ref>{{Cite web|last=Claudio Tucci|date=11 November 2008|title=Confesercenti, la crisi economica rende ancor più pericolosa la mafia|url=http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/SoleOnLine4/Economia%20e%20Lavoro/2008/11/confesercenti-mafia-racket-pizzo.shtml?uuid=20ff3b9c-afe7-11dd-8057-9c09c8bfa449|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427081220/http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/SoleOnLine4/Economia%20e%20Lavoro/2008/11/confesercenti-mafia-racket-pizzo.shtml?uuid=20ff3b9c-afe7-11dd-8057-9c09c8bfa449|archive-date=27 April 2011|access-date=21 April 2011|website=Confesercenti|publisher=Ilsole24ore.com|language=it}}; {{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/6957240/Italy-claims-finally-defeating-the-mafia.html|title=Italy claims finally defeating the mafia|author=Nick Squires|date=9 January 2010|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|access-date=21 April 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429173631/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/6957240/Italy-claims-finally-defeating-the-mafia.html|archive-date=29 April 2011}}</ref> of GDP.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kiefer|first=Peter|date=22 October 2007|title=Mafia crime is 7% of GDP in Italy, group reports|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/world/europe/22iht-italy.4.8001812.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501085052/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/world/europe/22iht-italy.4.8001812.html|archive-date=1 May 2011|access-date=19 April 2011|work=The New York Times}}</ref> A 2009 report identified 610 [[Comune|{{Lang|it|comuni|nocat=true}}]] which have a strong Mafia presence, where 13 million Italians live and 15% of GDP is produced.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Maria Loi|date=1 October 2009|title=Rapporto Censis: 13 milioni di italiani convivono con la mafia|url=http://www.antimafiaduemila.com/content/view/20052/78|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429082416/http://www.antimafiaduemila.com/content/view/20052/78|archive-date=29 April 2011|access-date=21 April 2011|website=Censis|publisher=Antimafia Duemila|language=it}}; {{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/01/mafia-influence-hovers-over-italians|work=The Guardian|location=London|title=Mafia's influence hovers over 13{{spaces}}m Italians, says report|first=Tom|last=Kington|date=1 October 2009|access-date=5 May 2010| url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908050448/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/01/mafia-influence-hovers-over-italians|archive-date=8 September 2013}}</ref> The Calabrian [['Ndrangheta]], probably the most powerful crime syndicate of Italy, accounts alone for 3% of GDP.<ref>{{Cite web|last=ANSA|date=14 March 2011|title=Italy: Anti-mafia police arrest 35 suspects in northern Lombardy region|url=http://mafiatoday.com/sicilian-mafia-ndrangheta/italy-anti-mafia-police-arrest-35-suspects-in-northern-lombardy-region|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429100220/http://mafiatoday.com/sicilian-mafia-ndrangheta/italy-anti-mafia-police-arrest-35-suspects-in-northern-lombardy-region|archive-date=29 April 2011|access-date=21 April 2011|website=adnkronos.com|publisher=Mafia Today}}</ref>

At 0.013 per 1,000 people, Italy has the 47th highest murder rate,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Crime Statistics – Murders (per capita) (more recent) by country|url=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929181837/http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita|archive-date=29 September 2008|access-date=4 April 2010|publisher=NationMaster.com}}</ref> compared to 61 countries, and the 43rd highest number of rapes per 1,000 people, compared to 64 countries in the world. These are relatively low figures among developed countries.