Learning objectives
The course aims to provide the students with a knowledge of the main figures of criminal law, with particular regards to those which affect the application of fundamental guarantees, through the comparison between the solutions adopted in the national law systems and in the case law of the supranational Courts. Students are expected to learn to point out analogies and differences between criminal law systems, understanding reasons and consequences of the solutions adopted and being able to form an opinion on their pros and cons. Finally, students are expected to report what they learned using the appropriate legal language.
Prerequisites
Good knowledge of constitutional law and of the general principles of criminal law
Course unit content
After an introduction on the role of comparison in criminal law and on the Europeanization of criminal law which emerged in the last years, the course will be focused on some questions which affect the application of fundamental guarantees, such as the relationship between principle of legality and role of the judiciary in civil and common law systems, also in the light of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. In the same way, further questions concerning the fundamental principles of criminal law will be considered, with particular regard to their scope of application and, therefore, to the definition of the concept of "criminal" offence/sanction. Finally, particular attention will be paid to the role of the principle of proportionality in the evaluation of the legitimacy of criminalization of conduct constituting the exercise of fundamental rights (e.g. in the field of sexual freedom, freedom of expression and end of life matters).
Full programme
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Bibliography
Students not attending the course have to study the following textbooks: A. Cadoppi, Tra storia e comparazione. Studi di diritto penale comparato, Cedam, Padova, 2014, pages 1-224, and V. Manes-M. Caianiello, Introduzione al diritto penale europeo, Giappichelli, Torino, 2020, pages 3-43, 125-208 and 261-279 (362 pages overall). Students who will attend the lectures will have a different program, which will be agreed during the course with the lecturer and based on the materials provided during the course through the platform Elly.
Teaching methods
Teaching will be provided through in-person lectures and the video recordings of the lectures will be made available online on the Elly platform. During the lectures students will be directly involved in the lectures, asking them to discuss during the classes some of the most important decisions of the recent years.
Assessment methods and criteria
The final summative assessment, with a mark out of thirty, consists of an oral exam in English that includes at least three questions. There are no intermediate exams.
Other information
The students may contact the professor by email or during the office hours.
