In the area of criminal law, unlike the American system, which employs juries for trials, Italy mandates trials led by professional judges or a panel of judges. Due to the heavy workload of these judges, the legal landscape in Italy is characterized by the extremely long time it can take for courts to reach decisions.

The Italian Civil Code (Italian: Codice civile) is the civil code of Italy, a collection of norms regulating private law. It was enacted under Fascist rule, by Royal decree no. 262 of 16 March 1942. It predates the current Italian Constitution, and it was amended in the postwar period.

Normattiva's numbers speak of 203.068 normative acts of various types that have come into force in Italy through December 2022. Added to these are regional acts, a total of 43.501, of which about 23.000 are in force. Hence the “250.000 laws” mentioned by Nordio.

The Italian Parliament consists of two houses: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. According to the principle of full bicameralism, the two houses perform identical functions. Their main function is to make the laws of the country.