Learning objectives
The course is designed to give students the fundamental notions of Juvenile Criminal Justice. Through the analysis of Italian and international legislation (ex. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989) and through the study of the leading cases, the course aims to allow the student to learn the method which is necessary in order to work autonomously and competently in a future job within the Institutions which deal with the Juvenile Criminal Justice System. At the end of the course we expect that the student would be able to: 1) be autonomous in identifying the principles and rules of Juvenile Criminal Justice which are located in various international and national sources (knowledge and comprehension skills); 2) recognize and analyse the application of provisions and rules in the case law (ability to apply knowledge and comprehension); 3) analyze with method the case law (autonomy in judgment); 4) develop a correct juridical language (comunicative skills); 5) make connections between different legal issues in the field of juvenile criminal justice and be autonomous in critical reasoning (learning skills).
Prerequisites
- For Social Sciences Students: Diritto penale (https://cdl-ss.unipr.it/studiare/piano-degli-studi)
- For Law Students: Diritto penale 1
In order to allow the students to attend the course with advancement, at the beginning of the course the teacher will verify the preliminary knowledge of the students and plan a review of some foundamental notions and basic principles.
Course unit content
The course covers the fundamental issues concerning Juvenile Criminal Justice. It touches both the substantial aspects and the procedural ones. It concerns with international and domestic sources of Juvenile Criminal Justice. It focuses, inter alia, on the juvenile offender, on the concept of "maturità", on juvenile delinquency prevention, on the punishment system and on juvenile criminal procedure. It deals, in particular, with the special instruments of "irrilevanza del fatto", "perdono giudiziale", "sospensione del processo e messa alla prova". Also to the role of the social services in the trial is given particular attention. Part of the classes is dedicated to the legislation concerning the protection of children from sexual abuse.
Full programme
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Bibliography
- The textbook is:
a) A. Pennisi, La giustizia penale minorile: formazione, devianza, diritto e processo, Milano, 2012 (pp. 105-179; 200-278, 311-321, 355-425; 477-545. Tot. pag. 300).
or alternatevily:
b) A. C. Moro, Manuale di diritto minorile, VI ed., Bologna, 2019 (pp. 3-32; 50-56; 121-138; 479-532; 569-681. Tot. pag.: 217)
- For students who will attend the Course, the program will be planned with the Professor taking into consideration also the material assigned during the course and published on Elly.
- For the students who will not attend the course and belong to the Faculty of Psychology (Corso di Laurea in Psicologia dell'intervento clinico e sociale), the textbooks are:
1) A. Pennisi, La giustizia penale minorile: formazione, devianza, diritto e processo, Milano, 2012 (pp. 105-137; 311-425)
2) A. Cadoppi - P. Veneziani (a cura di), Elementi di Diritto penale, Parte speciale, Vol. II, I reati contro la persona, Tomo I, Milano, 2017
(pp. 60-103; 163-195). (Totale pagine 221)
Teaching methods
The most important notions of Juvenile Criminal Justice will be analysed in the first part of the class. The second part will be a more practical one, because it will focus on some leading cases concerning the juvenile offender and also the minor as victim of sexual abuse.
The students will have an active participation during the classes, also through group works. The professor will use slides with outlines of the fundamental institutes. The argomentative skills of the students will be devoloped also through discussions and debates. Experts of the discipline will be invited (judges, lawyers, mediators, ecc.).
Elly will be used for the publication of research materials and decisions and the professor will inform the students about the publication of these materials.
Assessment methods and criteria
The exam will be oral and the grade system is out of thirty. The student is asked to answer three questions concerning the substantive and the procedural aspects of Juvenile Criminal Justice, contained in the textbook. For students who attend the course, the exam deals with the issues analyzed during the course, contained in the textbook and in the materials analyzed during the classes. The exam aims to understand the level of comprehension of the student and his ability to make connections between different topics. The exam also evaluates the ability of the student to communicate with a proper legal language. In order to pass the exam the student should answer correctly to, at least, two questions. The grade in comunicated immediately at the end of the exam.
Other information
The teacher is available for information both during the receiving hours and by e.mail.
