The State Attorney's Office participates in criminal trials by exercising in the interest of the state administration the faculties that the procedural law attributes to the person offended by the crime, or by exercising civil action for restitution or compensation for damage through the establishment of a civil party ; Not infrequently the Lawyer assists the administration cited in criminal proceedings as being civilly liable for the employee's illicit act. The same activities are carried out in the interest of other public bodies that enjoy state patronage.
However, in consideration of the limited staff of the legal profession and in order to allow the unified direction of the defense in criminal matters, avoiding sectoral dispersions, art. 1, paragraph 3, of law 3 January 1991 n. 3 made the establishment of a civil party by the State subject to authorization from the President of the Council of Ministers; this authorization is granted, subject to the opinion of the Lawyer's office responsible for handling the proceedings, when public, patrimonial and non-pecuniary interests come into play, of such importance that it is considered appropriate to support the presence of the public prosecutor in the criminal trial.
The art. 44 of 30 October 1933 n. 1611 also allows the State Attorney's Office to take on the defense of state employees or other public entities admitted to legal aid, both as defendants and as civil parties, in criminal proceedings involving them for facts inherent to the functions performed, if the entities members request it and the Attorney General recognizes the opportunity, excluding the existence of a conflict of interest between administration and employee. In such cases, the Lawyer's Office, in addition to guaranteeing public employees from actions by private individuals concerning legitimate administrative activities, also mediated protection of the financial interests of the administration, which could be prejudiced in relation to the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
Before the bodies of military justice, the activity of the State Attorney's Office is limited to taking on the defense of military personnel, where the conditions set out in the art. 44 tun 1611 of 1993 cit., the procedural law not contemplating the possibility of the party damaged by the crime being a civil party.