11 THE ITALIAN LAW JOURNAL NO. 2 (2025)
Questioning the Impartiality of Public Administration
by Paolo D’Anselmi The purpose of the article is to show the existence of a ‘vertical partiality’ of public administration managers vis-à-vis the citizens. The public managers observed here are public prosecutors as the gate keepers of criminal justice. The performance parameter that is measured is conviction rates in three countries: the US, England and Wales, and Italy. These countries provide a spectrum of high and low conviction rates. The present study is limited by a first cut at comparing such different judicial systems. Research approach is comparative and quali-quantitative. The article examines differences in procedure and in praxis, across different countries, making use of simple comparative statistics. The article finds that different cases – of high and low conviction rates – constitute two sides of the same coin: public managers pursue ease of management, either driven by favorable procedure or finding space in the slack of the same. The quest for a ‘just’ conviction rate is rather elusive, and the answer probably resides in ongoing research and analysis. The article also harmonizes different strands of organizational behavior research. The article takes an original bureaucratic theory approach at explaining conviction rates. An international comparative perspective highlights macro-differences that are hardly observed in domestic panel data and analysis. Practical implications of findings show the US system may overly incentivize plea dealing while Italian criminal justice reform does not address key issues that congest the judicial system and increase length of trials. From a social point of view, perception of the US system may be more negative than necessary, practice being affected by bureaucratic organizational behavior rather than discriminatory intent. The Italian judicial system maximizes its own social visibility more than its positive impact on society. Not immune from critique, the EW system appears nonetheless equilibrated. DOI 10.23815/2421-2156.ITALJ ISSN 2421-2156
The Uncertain Glory of Public Prosecutors
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