00222 - Constitutional Law

Learning outcomes

The examination consists of a written test on a subject from the syllabus, followed by an oral test. An insufficient mark in the written test does not prejudice access to the oral test. The oral test, through questions on different topics of the programme, will be aimed at verifying the achievement of the training objectives (e.g. knowledge of the constitutional organisation of the state, of the system of the sources of law) and the acquisition of an appropriate legal terminology preparatory to the subsequent courses. The assessment will also take into account the candidate's ability to make connections between the various parts of the programme and to develop critical arguments, as well as clarity of presentation.

The mark for the examination will take into account the overall results obtained by each candidate in the two tests taken.

By way of example only, the awarding of the final mark will be based on the following criteria:

- Sufficient or little more than sufficient preparation on the topics dealt with, poor critical ability, difficulty in using technical-legal language → 18-21; - Fair or rather good preparation on the topics dealt with, fair critical ability, good use of technical-legal language → 22-25; - Good or more than good preparation on the topics dealt with, good critical ability, mastery of technical-legal language → 26-29; - Substantially exhaustive preparation on the topics dealt with, excellent critical ability, full mastery of technical-legal language → 30-30L.


Attending students will have access to an intermediate test that will take place in December, at the end of the lessons. Details will be given during the lectures.

 

Course contents

The legal system and constitutional law. The state. The international legal order. The sources of law: general concepts. The sources of law: the individual sources. Protection of the rights. The rights and duties. The forms of government. Popular sovereignty. Parliament. The President of the Republic. the Government of the Republic. The judicial system. Constitutional justice

Readings/Bibliography

A. Barbera - C. Fusaro, Corso di diritto pubblico, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018 (with the exception of chapters IV, XIII e XVI; in chapter XII read only paragraphs from 1 to 5; the paragraphs eventually detailed in the notices on the teacher's webpage will be also excluded).

N.B. The updated 2020 edition of the text being adopted is being published (A. Barbera - C. Fusaro, Public law course). Those who still have to buy it, please wait for the new edition

Reading of legislation and decisions of Constitutional Court could be useful tools for studying. See the websites www.normattiva.it e www.cortecostituzionale.it

For a reasoned reading of the main decisions referred to in the course, you can consult:

A. Morrone, Il diritto costituzionale nella giurisprudenza, Padova, Cedam, VII edizione 2018.

Teaching methods

The first semester courses will be delivered in the manner described at the following Internet address:

https://dsg.unibo.it/en/teaching/projects-and-teaching-methodologies/teaching-modes-at-dsg-on-i-semester-a-y-2020-2021 ).

Assessment methods

The final exam will consists of a written test, on a topic of the program, followed by an oral test. The oral examination, through questions on different themes of the program, will be aimed at testing the achievement of learning objectives (ex. knowledge of the constitutional organization of the state, the system of sources of law) and the acquisition of an appropriate legal terminology preparatory to subsequent teachings. The negative evaluation of the written test does not affect access to the oral exam

Attending students will have access to an interim test that will take place in December at the end of the lessons. Details will be shown during the lessons 

Teaching tools

Students can use Aulaweb, the service associated to the textbook, through the page www.mulino.it/AulaWeb. The space is dedicated to the study and teaching; in it are available insights, questions for review, summary diagrams, online tutors, etc..

Students in any case can ask the professor questions during office hours. The professor is also contactable via email at chiara.bologna@unibo.it

There are also, as a possible means for the study, the following websites:

Specialized Search Engines:

Cicerone: www.diritto.it / cicerone.html;

Normattiva (the portal to current regulations): www.normattiva.it / static / index.html;

Diritto e diritti: www.diritto.it/ #

Infoleges: http://www.infoleges.it/

Italy

Italian Constitution: http://www.cortecostituzionale.it/documenti/download/pdf/Costituzione_della_Repubblica_italiana.pdf ;

Italian Constitutional Court: www.cortecostituzionale.it (or alternatively consult the texts of the decisions in the site www.giurcost.org);

Italian Parliament: www.parlamento.it ;

House of Representatives: www.camera.it ; Senate: www.senato.it;

Presidency of the Republic: www.quirinale.it ; Italian government www.governo.it;

Superior Council of Judiciary: www.csm.it

European Union:

Europe (the portal of the European Union): http://europa.eu/index_it.htm;

The treaties: http://europa.eu/abc/treaties/index_it.htm;

Institutions: http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/index_it.htm;

Court of Justice and other courts: http://curia.europa.eu/ ;

Eurlex (the right of the EU): http://eur-lex.europa.eu/it/index.htm

International organizations:

UN: www.un.org/;

Council of Europe: www.coe.int / lportal / web / coe-portal;

European Court of Human Rights: www.echr.coe.int/echr/ (the texts of the decisions are available in English and / or French);

Nato: www.nato.int / cps / en / natolive / index.htm

Foreign constitutional texts:

Archive of historical constitutions: www.dircost.unito.it / index.shtml;

Constitution finder: http://confinder.richmond.edu/ International constitutional law: www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/;

Political resources: http://www.politicalresources.net/ (for each country in the world all the most important political sites, including those of the institutions with the text of the Constitution)

Office hours

See the website of Chiara Bologna