Learning objectives
The course aims to provide methodological tools and theoretical foundations of comparative law through, first of all, the understanding and analysis of topics such as the notion, the manner and purpose of public/constitutional comparative law. Particular attention will be dedicated to the study of some specific aspects that characterize the evolution of the forms of state and the forms of government in the comparative analysis. Part of the course will be reserved for the examination of the different models and protection techniques of fundamental rights in comparative law, also through the study of the jurisprudence, also in an European constitutional perspective (European Courts of Justice and European Courts of human rights).
With reference to the knowledge and understanding, the course aims to provide students with deep knowledge about the relation between theory and research in the juridical comparative law and with the ability to develop new topic in the comparative law field through the study of the jurisprudence and legal models.
In relation to the applying knowledge and understanding, the course will enable students to understand the different legal phenomena and to analyze specific cases, in order to verify the possible application of the learned theoretical assumptions in relation to new questions and challenges (such as the protection of fundamental rights).
With regard to making judgements, the course aims to develop in students the ability to integrate the gained knowledge through the comparative legal analysis, in order to assess individually the applications and the legal implications of cases or judgments.
With regard to communication skills, the goal of the course is to develop the ability to communicate appropriately and comprehensively, using a correct language (technical legal terms), paying special attention to the development of interpretative processes structured on the basis of theoretical principles of public / constitutional comparative law.
Finally, with regard to learning skills, the course will be organized in order to allow students to acquire the theoretical and methodological tools of comparative law in order to be able to analyze on their own the case studies and to do research.
Prerequisites
In order to be admitted to the Comparative public law exam, it’s necessary to have already passed the examinations of Principles of Private Law, Principles of Roman Law, Constitutional Law.
Course unit content
The use of comparison in the public law/constitutional law between science and method. The families of the legal systems. Forms of state: notions and classifications. Forms of government and their peculiar characters. Comparative constitutional justice among centralized or decentralized model of judicial review. Access to the Constitutional Courts: direct appeal, direct appeal of the citizens; the recurso de amparo and the protection of the rights. The “rights-outside” the national Constitutions: European integration through the rights. The new contents and the new techniques of protection of fundamental rights between the evolution of the constitutional languages and the orientations of the judges and the Constitutional Courts. The role of judges (especially constitutional ones) in the configuration of rights and in the development and management of new protection techniques of rights.
The special part of the course will be dedicated to digital privacy. In particular, it will illustrate how the European Union adopted of Regulation 2016/679 on the protection of personal data, in order to understand its real problems, also in light of national models as well as to understand the differences between the European models and the American one.
Following suit, a specific part will be dedicated to the analysis of some problematic aspects linked to the Regulation (and from the integrative discipline), for example the protection of special categories of personal data, such as genetic and biometric information.
A series of Webinars will also be organized on Public Comparative Law during pandemic, by scholars of numerous foreign Universities, in English or Italian.
Full programme
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Bibliography
General part:
T. E. FROSINI, Diritto Pubblico Comparato. Le democrazie stabilizzate, Il Mulino, 2019 (full text).
Special part:
L. SCAFFARDI (a cura di), I "profili del diritto". Regole, rischi e opportunità nel'era digitale, Giappichelli, 2018 (full text).
For the final exam it is required a deep knowledge of major European Countries’ Constitutions. In this regard, we recommend: G. CERRINA, E. FROSINI, A. TORRE, Codice delle Costituzioni, Cedam, 2015.
Teaching methods
The course is divided into lectures (48 hours). The lessons will be held online (live, synchronus mode), through the use of the Teams Platform. Moments of interactive participation of students will be integrated into frontal lessons, through the analysis and discussion of relevant case studies. In addition, during the course a Webinar Series titled "Comparative Public Law in times of Covid-19" (18 hours) will be held online (Teams Platform). It will deal with a relevant and current topic: the Covid-19 pandemic and the reactions of different legal systems, both within and outside the EU. The Webinars will be run by professors and researchers coming from italian and foreign universities (Oreste Pollicino, bocconi University and Italian Board Member of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights; Gianluca Gentili, University of Sussex; Delia Ferri, National University of Ireland Maynooth; Andrea Gatti, Pisa University and former Visiting Fellow at the Universitat Leipzig; Silvia Romboli, Universitat Ramon Llull ESADE Law School; Anna Maria Lecis, Institut Science Po Bordeaux; Elisabetta Morlino,Napoli Suor Orsola Benincasa University and former Emile Noel Fellow at the New York University; Valentina Rita Scotti, Koc University; Irene Spigno, Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila Mexico).
Students will be involved in the preparation of seminars and didactic materials.
Assessment methods and criteria
Final assessment (vote on thirty) is conducted through oral exam. During the first semester, according to the evolution of the current Covid-19 emergency situation, the exam could be held in 'mixed-mode' (in presence but with the possibility for the student to ask directly to the Professor to take the exam online) or online for everybody. The modality will be announced on the Esse3 Platform before the exam date.
The knowledge and understanding will be assessed through three questions in order to test the knowledge of the theoretical concepts of comparative law.
The applying knowledge and understanding applied will be assessed by inviting students to discuss and analyze case studies and judgments.
The making judgements will be assessed by inviting the student to formulate personal considerations on specific case studies or judgments.
The communication skills will be assessed by evaluating the use of the technical and legal language and the ability to provide appropriate definitions.
The learning skills will be assessed by evaluating the acquired knowledge and the ability to make judgments.
Other information
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