B8948 - Human Rights. New Technologies, Environment and Climate

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide students with methodological tools and specific, advanced skills in the definition and protection of fundamental human rights from a multi-level protection perspective. Particular attention will be paid to the interrelationships between human rights, new technologies, the environment, and climate. At the end of the course, students will be able to understand and analyze current legal issues and independently develop possible solutions to open questions.

Course contents

The Fundamental Rights course aims to outline the systems for the protection of fundamental human rights existing at international, European, and national levels, as well as to explore particularly current and sensitive issues such as the impact and challenges posed by new technologies and climate change on fundamental human rights.
The analysis is conducted with constant reference to the most significant constitutional, European Union, and international case law.

Readings/Bibliography

For non-attending students, the texts to be prepared will be indicated before the start of the lessons.

For attending students;

the program will coincide with the topics and case law analyzed in class.

The teaching material will also be available on virtuale.unibo.it, on the course page.

Teaching methods

The course will be partly based on traditional lectures and partly on seminars, with active student participation.
Teaching will be divided into lectures and extra activities to get students involved.
During the lectures, the topics covered in the course will be explained in a systematic way, following the program above. Ample space will then be given to the examination of case law on the individual topics covered, directly involving the students. During the course, the lecture will be supplemented by the constant use of diagrams and slides to aid understanding, and there will also be some lessons in which students will be involved in the analysis of specific cases pending before the Constitutional Court, the European Court of Human Rights, or other international courts.
There will also be a seminar on the techniques for drafting appeals to the Strasbourg Court.

Thesis

Thesis topics are assigned after one or more interviews aimed at identifying a topic of interest to the student.

For an initial interview to explore possible research topics for the thesis, students are asked to make an appointment by sending an email to caterina.drigo@unibo.it [mailto:caterina.drigo@unibo.it].

Guidelines that graduating students are required to follow both during the writing of their thesis and when submitting their graduation application:

1. Once the thesis topic has been approved by the professor, graduating students must periodically inform the professor of the progress of their work. The thesis must be submitted chapter by chapter, thus avoiding the submission of the complete text for correction. Individual parts of the thesis may be sent by email or delivered in hard copy during office hours by appointment to be agreed in advance. The professor will correct the individual chapters of the thesis and provide the student with further guidance on the parts of the text to be amended and/or supplemented.

The thesis will then be submitted to the professor complete with all corrected parts for final approval and subsequent submission to the registrar's office.

2. Graduating students are requested not to submit their degree application before receiving express authorization by email from their professor. Authorization will only be granted to those who have completed and submitted three quarters of their thesis. Applications submitted without such authorization will be automatically rejected.

3. The submission of any application for the preparation of a thesis abroad must be agreed with the professor.

4. Any request for correlation is only possible if strictly necessary for the preparation of the thesis and must be agreed with the professor.

5. Graduating students are asked to contact the student office for all questions concerning compliance with graduation deadlines.

 

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION Prof. Drigo writes letters of recommendation/presentation EXCLUSIVELY for her own graduates. This is because in letters of recommendation/presentation, the professor must be able to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the student's academic qualities (particularly in research).
Classes will be held in the second semester, and students will therefore be able to take the exam starting in May 2026.

 

 

Assessment methods

The exam will be oral.
The interview will focus on the topics listed in the “Program and contents” section.
The exam will be graded based on:
knowledge of institutional profiles;
ability to analyze case law and doctrinal trends;
ability to make connections between different parts of the program;
ability to develop critical arguments;
the articulation of the presentation;
the accuracy of the presentation.
For the sake of simplicity, the final grade will be based on the following criteria:
· Preparation on a very limited number of topics covered in the course and analytical skills that emerge only with the help of the instructor, expression in generally correct language → 18-19;
· Preparation on a limited number of topics covered in the course and ability to analyze independently only on purely practical issues, correct language → 20-24; Preparation on a wide range of topics covered in the course, ability to make independent critical analysis choices, mastery of specific terminology → 25-29;
· Substantially exhaustive preparation on the topics covered in the course, ability to make independent critical analysis and connections, full mastery of specific terminology and ability to argue and reflect on one's own work → 30-30L.
For attending students, the final grade will take into account active participation in class and the presentation of group work, as indicated on the first day of class.
Registration for the final exam must be done through the Almaesami application (https://almaesami.unibo.it/almaesami/welcome.htm).

Teaching tools

In order to facilitate the assimilation of concepts, including through the visualization of logical connections, the illustration of institutions will be constantly accompanied by the analysis of case law found in the textbook, through the distribution of case law materials in class or through the illustration of judgments available online on the institutional websites of national and international bodies or entities.
Supplementary and in-depth material will be made available to students on an ongoing basis via the online platform.

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Caterina Drigo