Learning objectives
The course aims to provide students with the necessary tools for knowledge and research in the field of food criminal law and critically analyze the typical peculiarities of criminal prosecutions for agri-food crimes. At the end of the course, the student is expected to be able to frame the arguments of the pronouncements in the field of food criminal law, to grasp their evolutions and possible criticalities, expressing himself/herself in an appropriate legal language.See module A and B Syllabus
Prerequisites
See module A and B Syllabus
Course unit content
The course covers the main aspects of criminal law that come to the fore in the agri-food sector and is divided into two parts, according to the classic partition between 'general part' and 'special part'.
In the first part, therefore, the profiles of agri-food legislation affecting the general institutes of criminal law will be considered, with particular regard to the relevant constitutional principles in criminal matters. In particular, the emergence of the legal interest represented by the 'agri-food heritage', in the light of the fundamental principles of extrema ratio and proportionality. In the same perspective, but also recalling the principle of culpability, the precautionary logic that underlies many aspects of the agri-food discipline will be considered. The problems of accessibility of law and predictability of judicial decisions in a field characterized by extra-criminal regulations at various levels will not be overlooked. On the subject of legality, the intersections between European law and national criminal law will also be considered, recalling the important and topical issues concerning the limits to the direct effects in criminal matters. Finally, the delicate issue of the definition of the “positions of guarantee” from which a liability by omission may arise will be addressed considering the prohibition on punishing a person where the offence has been committed by another.
The second part of the course will focus on some specific offences in the agri-food sector. It will deal, in particular, with the offences against public health, the offences of counterfeiting and alteration, the fraud in trade and the offences connected to the protection of 'Made in Italy'. The analysis of the various cases will take into account a central feature of punitive agri-food law, namely the coexistence of criminal and administrative offences. Finally, special attention will be devoted to the corporate criminal liability arising from food offences (legislative decree n. 231/2001).
The course aims also to analyze the peculiarities of criminal proceedings related to agri-food crimes, focusing on the public investigative powers and the defensive rights.
As an introduction, the course will analyze the constitutional and systematic principles that, in general, govern criminal proceedings. After that, it will focus on: a) the issue of scientific evidence (in its multiple declinations), relevant to the investigation of offenses concerning the production and marketing of counterfeit or health-threatening food products; b) the investigative powers of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, with particular regard to agri-food fraud committed against the European Union, and the role of the defense.
Full programme
See module A and B Syllabus
Bibliography
See module A and B Syllabus
Teaching methods
Teaching will be delivered through face-to-face lectures and audiovisual materials will also be made available online via the Elly platform. Lectures will be structured to encourage active student participation and critical analysis of relevant case law material. it is intended to encourage discussion between the lecturer and students, at least on the most topical and problematic issues of the subject. On the innovative teaching side, judicial cases (real or conceivable) will be discussed in the classroom.
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 on the indicated program and the indicated texts. The questions will aim to test the correct understanding of the syllabus and the learning of the fundamental concepts of the subject. The examination tests the student's attainment of knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the subject matter, the ability to deal systematically with the subject matter and to adequately argue the answers given. Failure to demonstrate these minimum knowledge and skills, on the systematic and argumentative level, implies failure to pass the examination. The grade is announced immediately at the end of the oral examination. There are no intermediate exams.
Other information
See module A and B Syllabus
2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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