Training the Hybrid Lawyer and Implementing the Hybrid System: Two Tasks for Italian Legal Education

Abstract

This article proposes two tasks for Italian legal education following the most significant reforms of Italy's criminal justice system in over a century. Now a "mixed" or hybrid system that is the most adversarial in continental Europe (with confrontation, cross examination, lawyer-directed questioning of witnesses, and limited plea bargaining), the Italian criminal justice system also retains significant inquisitorial features (liberal use of appeals, written decisions in virtually all cases, and professional rather than lay fact finders). I recommend Italian legal educators adopt trial skills simulation courses in Italian universities and develop an empirical research program. The adoption of trial skills simulation courses is based upon a comparison with US efforts to align legal education and practice skills. The research program could create mechanisms for implementing the reforms, such as guidelines for exercising the prosecutorial discretion newly available with plea bargaining and ethical standards for interaction between judges with more limited investigative roles and lawyers (particularly public prosecutors) with more adversarial ones.

Keywords: inquisitorial, adversarial, legal education, Italy, hybrid

JEL Classification: K14, K40