07230 - Comparative Judicial Systems

Learning outcomes

Students are expected to know concepts, models and methods of analysis allowing them to understand the role of judicial institutions in contemporary democracies, their influence on collective decisions and the dynamics they may trigger in the political system. By comparing the two main European traditions - common law and civil law - students will learn to detect similarities, differences and variations concerning the institutional settings of the national cases under exam and will be able to connect their recent evolution with supranational developments.

Course contents

I Introduction: Political system and judicial system - The role of the judge: independence and accountability -The judicialisation of politics

II The judiciary and the political system: The institutional settings: the relevant variables - Cases analysis -The governance of the judiciary

III The relations between justice and politics: The scope of jurisdiction - The role of supreme courts -Access to justice and public prosecution - The power of the judge -Judicial review of legislation

IV The supranational dimension: The European court of justice - The Ecj and the national courts

Readings/Bibliography

C. Guarnieri e P. Pederzoli, La magistratura nelle democrazie contemporanee, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2002

(*) A. Panebianco, Il potere, lo Stato, la libertà, Bologna, il Mulino 2004, capitolo IV

(*) P. C. Magalhaes, C. Guarnieri, Y. Kaminis, Democratic Consolidation, Judicial Reform, and the Judicialization of Politics in Southern Europe, in R. Gunther, P.N. Diamandouros, D.A. Sotiropoulus (eds), Democracy and the State in the New Southern Europe, Oxford, Oxford U.P., 2006, pp. 138-196

(*) M. Tabarelli, Le politiche giudiziarie inglesi negli anni 2000, in "Rivista Italiana di Politiche Pubbliche", n. 3, 2010

(*) A. Stone Sweet, The Judicial Construction of Europe, Oxford, Oxford U.P., 2004, pp. 45-107

(*) texts will be made available before the beginning of the course.

Assessment methods

Students who have not attended lessons: oral examination.

Students who have attended lessons: two written exams (mid-term and final exam) aimed at assessing the knowledge of the required bibliography, the ability to make connections between the various parts of the syllabus, the logical structure of the presentation, the adequate use of theories ad concepts to make a comparative analysis, lexical and syntactic propriety.

Office hours

See the website of Patrizia Pederzoli