Drawing on historical institutionalism, the paper shows how the principle of mandatory prosecution, enshrined in the Italian Constitution, has been incrementally reconfigured over the last 50 years through a process of layering carried out by judicial actors, without being formally amended. The result is that the principle of mandatory prosecution has been de facto replaced by an opposite principle of discretion, which attributes to public prosecutors the power to define priorities in the exercise of the penal action. This transformation raises serious concerns about the respect for the principle of equality of citizens before the law and about the preservation of the traditional balance of power between political and judicial institutions.

本文利用历史制度主义，展示了意大利宪法中所包含的强制起诉原则，是如何在过去的50年中通过司法行为者的分层过程逐步重新配置的，而没有经过正式修正。结果是，强制起诉原则实际上已被相反的酌处权原则所取代，该原则赋予公共检察官在执行刑事诉讼中确定优先次序的权力。这种转变引起人们的严重关切，即尊重法律面前公民的平等原则，以及维护政治和司法机构之间传统的权力平衡。