Criminal investigations on corporate liability. A comparative account on Italy and the United States

The spread of corporate criminal liability regimes caused corporations to become potential subjects of criminal investigations – for crimes committed in their interest or to their advantage. This book resorts to a functional point-by-point legal comparison to analyze the reactions of two legal systems – Italy and the United States – to corporate crime in the phase of preliminary investigations. First, it provides a systematic account of the two legal systems considered, both on criminal procedure and on corporate criminal liability. Subsequently, it covers specific features encountered by public prosecutors when initiating, conducting and completing an investigation against corporations, as well as by defense counsel in building a defense in this phase. Throughout the enquiry, it focuses on the transversal topics of negotiated justice for corporations, the role of the private sector and of compliance in preventing corporate-related crimes, and the ontological differences between individual suspects and artificial legal entities.