Alcune riflessioni sul rapporto tra giustizia riparativa e illecito bagatellare a partire dal volume “Minima non curat praetor. Ipertrofia del diritto penale e decriminalizzazione dei reati bagatellari” di Carlo Enrico Paliero

The article builds upon Carlo Enrico Paliero's seminal work on petty offences (reati bagatellari) to examine the relationship between restorative justice and penal deflation, and, more broadly, to reflect on possible strategies of decriminalisation. In particular, it explores the role of restorative justice and reparative conduct within both abstract and concrete models of decriminalisation, with particular reference to the exclusion of criminal liability on the ground of the particular triviality of the offence. Drawing also on a comparative analysis, the article highlights the limitations of the current Italian legal framework in recognising and giving effect to the outcomes of restorative justice programmes. It concludes by proposing a reinterpretation of the concept of petty offences that distinguishes between absolute and relative petty offences, assigning an autonomous role to reparative conduct and restorative justice processes in relation to the latter.