91430 - Fundamental Rights

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course unit, students: - possess an in-depth knowledge about the mechanisms designed to protect human rights at the international and supranational levels as well as their mutual interactions and their impact on national legal regimes; - are capable, also by relying on regulatory comparison patterns, to assess the interactions between different national mechanisms designed to protect fundamental rights, against the background of the reference socio-cultural context. - can handle the “case law” of monitoring bodies dealing with international and supranational legal instruments for the protection of human rights and are capable to evaluate the work of NGOs in this field.

Course contents

The course of Fundamental Rights is aimed at reconstructing, in the first place, in a historical perspective, the theories and models of recognition and protection of fundamental and social rights. Ample space is then dedicated to the analysis of instruments for the protection of human rights in international law and the European Union. The course then addresses the evolution of the protection of fundamental rights in the Italian constitutional experience, with specific reference to the individual subjective legal situations and to the collective liberties recognized and guaranteed in the constitutional text and in the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation. Finally, the course focuses on the analysis of social rights and constitutional duties. The analysis is carried out through constant reference to the most significant constitutional jurisprudence, to the case-law of the European Union and to international jurisprudence.

Readings/Bibliography

R. Smith, International Human Rights, IX ed., Oxford University Press, 2020

Teaching methods

Lectures will be articulated in frontal lessons and in side activities directed to solicit the involvement of the students. In the lectures will be conducted the systematic presentation of the topics covered by the course, according to the program above, and then leave room for the examination of the jurisprudence on the addressed issues.
Specialist seminars parallel to the course will be dedicated to the analysis of the protection of human rights in the Interamerican system and in the African system.
The lessons will be held in the second semester and therefore the students will be able to take the exam starting from May 2021.

Assessment methods

The exam will take place in oral form.
The exam will focus on the topics indicated in the "Program and contents" section.
The evaluation will be carried out taking into consideration:
knowledge of institutional profiles;
the ability to analyze the jurisprudential and doctrinal guidelines;
the ability to make connections between the different parts of the program;
the ability to develop critical arguments;
the exposure articulation;
the accuracy of the exposure.

Registration for the final exam must be done using the Almaesami application (https://almaesami.unibo.it/almaesami/welcome.htm).

Teaching tools

In order to facilitate the assimilation of concepts, also through the visualization of logical links, the illustration of the topics will be constantly accompanied by the analysis of case law found in the Casebook of human rights, through the distribution of jurisprudential materials or through the illustration of judgments available online on the institutional websites of national and international bodies or entities.
Students who for reasons of disability or specific learning disabilities (DSA) need compensatory tools will be able to communicate to the teacher their needs so as to be directed to the contacts and agree on the adoption of the most appropriate measures.

Office hours

See the website of Luca Mezzetti