This article provides a general picture of how a community service order or penal measure in Italy consisting of an obligation to perform unpaid work is applied in the legal systems of the European Community (EC) countries as well as in other countries outside the EC. Various implementations of these measures are analyzed with particular emphasis being placed on the Italian regulatory system. Community service orders are used in different ways in various countries. In Great Britain community service is an independent penal measure. However, in other countries such as Italy and The Netherlands, community service appears to be a substitute for short detention sentences or an alternative measure as in France. In the United States, in addition to being used as an alternative measure, community service also provides a method of restitution or rehabilitation while serving the sentence. The analysis of the Italian regulatory system indicates that there are several specific spheres of application within existing regulations. The first sphere of application is considered as a substitute for short detention sentences (Law 689/1981), while another possibility involves using this system as an alternative to detention (Law 663/1986) or as a measure that can be applied during probation. 44 footnotes and 47 references