Abstract

The aim of the article is to describe the effects of the transition to the post-regulatory state for criminal law. In this perspective, the Author discusses the main trends that are connected to the New Governance transition: the repositioning of the state, also linked to gloabalization; the «decentring regulation»; the overcoming of the command and control approach in various economic sectors. Criminal law is also intensely involved in these transformations. The article examines some areas in which the criminal system expresses reflexive orientation and operates as a «governmental technology» (for example: regulatory contraventions). According to the Author, a partially unprecedented scenario is emerging: a criminal (law) governamentality.