00222 - Constitutional Law

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student has an understanding of the essential lines of the constitutional organization of the state, with specific reference to the composition, powers, and the interactions of the constitutional organs, and to the principles governing the system of sources of law and fundamental rights. The student will accrue skills of legal terminology and understanding / interpretation of legislation and case law, preparatory to most of the later teachings. The course aims also to develop skills of analysis and classification of subjective legal situations that characterize the relationship between individuals and institutions.

Course contents

I. The legal system and constitutional law. II. The state. III The international legal order. IV The legal system of the European Union V. The sources of law: general concepts. VI. The sources of law: the individual sources. VII. Protection of the rights VIII. The rights and duties IX. The forms of government X. Popular sovereignty XI. Parliament XII. The President of the Republic XIII. the Government of the Republic XIV. Regional and local governments XV. Public administrations XVI. The judicial system XVII. Constitutional justice XVIII. The Italian legal system and its evolution

Readings/Bibliography

A. Barbera - C. Fusaro, Corso di diritto costituzionale, Bologna, il Mulino, 2014

Will be the subject of comment and study some of the decisions of the Constitutional Court taken from:

A. Morrone, Il diritto costituzionale nella giurisprudenza, Cedam, 2014


Collections of laws
To better prepare for the exam, you may consult an updated collection of laws relevant for constitutional law, such as:

1) M. Bassani, G. Bottino, M. Della Torre, V. Italia, G. Ruggeri, A. Zucchetti (a cura di), Leggi fondamentali del diritto pubblico e costituzionale, Milano, Giuffré, 2012;
2) L. Califano (a cura di), Guida ragionata alla Costituzione italiana, Rimini, Maggioli, 2010;
3) A. Cariola (a cura di), Codice dell'organizzazione costituzionale, Milano, Giuffrè, 2009;
4) A. Celotto (a cura di), Costituzione annotata della Repubblica italiana, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2012;
5) P. Costanzo (a cura di), Testi normativi per lo studio del diritto costituzionale italiano ed europeo, Torino, Giappichelli, 2011;
6) L. Mezzetti, M. Belletti (a cura di), Codice costituzionale, Torino, Giappichelli, 2010.

Teaching methods

The course will be conducted through lectures

Assessment methods

At the end of the course will be conducted a test to allow students to check their preparation for the final exam, which will be an oral examination. The 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

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