Premise The following study constitutes a summary of Italian criminal procedure, without any pretension to substitute a lawyer’s consultation. Italian criminal law is divided into two parts: there are the rules describing the types of crimes codified both in the Criminal Code (Codice Penale) and in special legislation, and there are the other rules, contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure (Codice di Procedura Penale), governing the investigations of crimes, the arrest, charging, trial of accused etc., up to the final decision (acquittal or sentence). Among the many principles of law, two are particularly important in criminal procedure: the first is that no one can plead ignorance of the law as an excuse for not complying with the law; and the second is that the person accused can be convicted only if there is certainty, beyond any reasonable doubt, that he committed the crime. 2. Italian criminal procedure: generalities Criminal procedure be...