96819 - COMPARATIVE LEGAL SYSTEMS

Learning outcomes

The objective of the course is to provide students with the following basic knowledge of the comparative method in order to achieve both practical and theoretic purposes; the knowledge of the different systems of sources, of the organization of various forms of State and Government and of the diverse Constitutional Courts. According to the objective of the course, the student will in particular learn the regulation of the institutional structures, with special attention to the sources of law, to the evolution of the forms of State and Government and to the protection provided by the different Constitutional Courts. Furthermore the student will be able to apply the above-mentioned knowledge to European, international and institutional studies.

Course contents

1) COMPARATIVE METHODOLOGY AND DIFFERENCE WITH FOREIGN LAW (targets, uses, applications)

2) LEGAL FAMILIES: Islamic Law; Jewish Law; Common Law; Civil Law; African traditions)

3) FORMS OF STATE (Federalism; Regionalism; Unitary States)

4) POLITICAL SYSTEMS (Parliamentary Systems; Presidentialism; Semipresidentialism) and ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

5) COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL ADJUDICATION (models and systems)

The course is organized in lectures and seminars, as detailed in the following program. Lectures (32 hours) aim to introduce students to the core tenets of the discipline. Seminars (14 hours) aim to provide occasions for in-depth discussions of class materials and exercises. For the seminar section of the course, students will be divided in 3 groups. Students attend a total of 46 hours of classes.

Readings/Bibliography

R. Bifulco, “Federalism”, in The Cambridge Companion to Comparative Constitutional Law, edited Roger Masterman and Robert Schütze, 2019, pp. 312-332

M. Bogdan, Concise Introduction to Comparative Law, 2013 (Chapter 2 “The uses of comparative law”, pp. 15-26; and Chapter 3, “Some problems connected with the study of foreign law”, pp. 29-41)

M. Bussani, U. Mattei (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Comparative Law, Cambridge, CUP, 2012 (“The Jewish legal tradition”, pp. 278-294 and “The Islamic legal tradition”, pp. 295-312)

H.P. Glenn, Comparative Legal Families and Comparative Legal Traditions, in The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law (2nd edn)
Edited by Mathias Reimann and Reinhard Zimmermann, 2019

H.P. Glenn, Legal Traditions of the World, 2014 (Chapter 7, “A Common Law Tradition”, pp. 236-283)

R. Hirschl, Comparative Matters: The Renaissance of Comparative Constitutional Law, 2014 (Chapter 5 “How Universal is Comparative Constitutional Law?”, pp. 192-223)

Nicolini M., African Legal Traditions, in George Mousourakis, Comparative Law and Legal Traditions, Springer, 2019

S. Ragone, Territorial Politics of Regionalism in Italy Between Integration and Disintegration, in Aa. Vv., Territorial Politics and Secession. Constitutional and International Law Dimensions, Cham, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, pp. 191 - 213

S. Ragone, G. Moreno González, The Catalan Issue from a Comparative Constitutional Perspective, in AA. VV., Catalan Independence and the Crisis of Sovereignty, Cham, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, pp. 223 - 238

Sacco R., "One Hundred Years of Comparative Law." Tulane Law Review, vol. 75, no. 4, 2001, pp. 1159-1176

Additional legal texts, articles, cases and materials will be provided by the professor.

Teaching methods

The course will combine traditional lectures and more interactive methods, especially in the seminarial part of the classes. In addition to the recommended texts, judgments by different supreme or constitutional courts and legislation or amendments will be used as materials.

Students are expected to engage in the discussions, particularly with respect to current issues. They are supposed to actively participate in the sessions and are encouraged to pursue independent research activity. They are required to read the materials in advance.

Traditional methods will be often combined with PPT presentations and the consultation of legal texts. Dedicated seminars on specific issues will be organized in order to favor the understanding of how legal comparison has evolved over time.

Assessment methods

FULL-TIME STUDENTS: 3 mid-term exams during the course; 1 final oral exam on the final part of the syllabus.

For full time students who fail or do not take 1 of the 3 partial exams, the final oral exam will concern both the final part of the syllabus and the one of the failed/not taken one.

For full time students who fail or do not take 2 or 3 partial exams, the final exam is the same as the one for non full time students.

Full-time students who pass 3 mid-terms are allowed to retake one of them.

NON FULL-TIME STUDENTS: 1 final written and 1 oral exam on the entire syllabus (on the same date).

Teaching tools

Slides, case law, legal texts, scholarship, newspapers, blogs.

Office hours

See the website of Sabrina Ragone