Italy is a relatively crime-free country. Organised crime may be an element of life in Italy, but expats are unlikely to become involved in any of that. Violent crime and anti-social public drunkenness are both refreshingly absent. There is organised crime in Italy, from the Sicilian Mafia and Neapolitan Camorra, to high-level corporate crime. What violent crime there is tends to be domestic, rather than directed at tourists. Italy is a safe place to be, though (in the big cities especially) pick-pocketing has been developed into a fine art.

Italian law is based on codified Roman law, with elements of the Napoleonic civil code. The ordinary judicial system is structured in two main branches, which, respectively, are responsible for civil and penal affairs. The Court of Law is made up of three judges, which are responsible for the public function of the administration of justice, and are entrusted with tasks relating to interpretation of the laws and their application in the resolution of disputes. In the larger cities it is possible to find lawyers and attorneys who speak English.