Priorities for Backlog of Criminal Cases Pending in Courts: A Computational Agent-based Model

• Autore: Luigi Bonaventura, Andrea Consoli
• Pagine: 155-156

Priorities for Backlog of Criminal Cases

Pending in Courts: A Computational Agent-based Model

LUIG I BONAVE NTU RA, AN DRE A CONS OLI ∗

SUMM ARY:1. Introduction – 2. An Analysis of the Justice System in Literature – 3.

The Model Set-up – 4. The Simulation of the Model – 4.1. With a Low-productivity

Function – 4.2. With a High-productivity Function – 5. Conclusions

1. INT RODU CTI ON

The practice of establishing criteria of priority for reducing the backlog

of trial procedures has been widespread for some time, although not always

made clear. In both investigating and judging departments, the limited re-

sources available have made organizational decisions necessary in order to

answer the need to improve the justice system.

With reference to the Public Prosecutor’s off‌ice, this subject has often

led in Italy to animated discussions on the consistency of such criteria with

the principle of compulsoriness of penal action, since the decision regarding

which cases to bring before the court, whether made by those responsible

for the off‌ices or by the single Public Prosecutor, represents in any case a

concession to discretionary power. Moving from the nineties, in any case,

public and previous priorities stand out in investigation and prosecution, as

in the US experience of guidelines: at f‌irst, with local ventures of chief pros-

ecutors; later, with court sentences (see Disciplinary decision No. 105/97

of Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura - the Italian Council of Judiciary).

In spite of mandatory prosecution the budget constraint of investigation has

necessarily led to the use of guidelines connected to the seriousness of the

crime and concrete injury resulting from behaviour.

Possibly less at the centre of the Italian political debate, but equally im-

portant for its consequences, is the def‌inition of criteria of priority operated

by the judging off‌ices. Increasing the immediacy of a judicial reaction to

crime constitutes an important instrument, adding to the deterrent effect

and the social value of repression. A series of guidelines exists in these of-

f‌ices (since it is communicated to the Ministry of Justice) containing the

criteria of assignment among the different sections according to the topic

∗L. Bonaventura is assistant professor and A. Consoli is post-doc researcher at the Uni-

versity of Catania (Italy), Department of Economics and business.

“Informatica e diritto”, Vol. XXII, 2013, n. 1, pp. 155-167

XXXIX annata – Seconda Serie - Fasc. monografico S. Faro, N. Lettieri (a cura di), "Law and Computational Social Science", ESI, Napoli, 2013, 352 p.