93411 - ORDINAMENTO GIUDIZIARIO E ORGANIZZAZIONE DELLA GIUSTIZIA

Learning outcomes

The Course is designed to introduce students to the main concepts that characterize the role of judges and public prosecutors and the fundamental values associated thereto. More specifically, it aims at providing the knowledge necessary to promote critical thinking about:

- the fundamental principles affecting the role of judges and prosecutors in States with democratic and liberal tradition;

- the historical development of judicial institutions in Italy and the interplay between the judicial power and the political powers;

- the main values and duties affecting the role of judges and prosecutors and the essential balance between independence and accountability;

- the organization of the administration of justice in Italy;

- the need for effective and efficient justice systems; the ongoing reforms and challenges connected to the modernization of the Italian justice system.

Course contents

The Course is divided into two parts.

The first part is dedicated to the analysis of the organization of the Italian judicial system and the main problems concerning its functioning. Particular attention will be devoted to the following topics: judicial independence, status of judges and public prosecutors, non-professional judges, the governance of the judicial system (the Superior Council of the Magistracy, the Ministry of Justice, the judicial boards), the difficulty to balance judge's independence and accountability, the organization of the Italian judicial/prosecutorial offices, the 2022 reforms ("Cartabia Reform", PNRR). References will be provided to the historical evolution of judicial institutions, to the political system, to the international and comparative dimension. 

Additional topics are: the main features of judicial activity, the theory of legal action, the role of the different actors of the proceedings, the structure of the civil and criminal proceedings.

The second part is dedicated to the organization of criminal justice. Particular attention will be devoted to investigative, prosecutorial and adjudicating functions, considering also the current historical and international context. As far as the European context is concerned, the analysis will focus on the most important authorities and agencies operating in the criminal sector, such as the European Public Prosecutor Office (which has started its operations since the 1st of June, 2021), the Antifraud office of the European Union, Eurojust, Europol. Representatives of such agencies will also be invited to discuss some relevant cases with the students.

The course will be supplemented with the analysis of case studies, reform bills, research reports and empirical data.

Readings/Bibliography

G. DI FEDERICO (a cura di), Ordinamento Giudiziario. Uffici giudiziari, CSM e governo della magistratura, BUP, 2019;

R. ORLANDI, Organizzazione della giustizia penale, in P. BIAVATI, D. CAVALLINI, R. ORLANDI, Assetti della giustizia civile e penale italiana, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2016 (chapters no. 10, 11, 12, 13);

F. TESTA, F. ZACCHE’, R. BELFIORE (contributi di), p. 25 to 62, in ‘L’attuazione della procura europea. I nuovi assetti dello spazio europeo di libertà, sicurezza e giustizia’, a cura di G. Di Paolo, L. Pressacco, R. Belfiore, T. Rafaraci, 2022 (open access: https://iris.unitn.it/handle/11572/362083 )

alternate reading in English: Valsamis Mitsilegas and Fabio Giuffrida, ‘Raising the bar? Thoughts on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office’, CEPS, 2017 (open access: https://www.ceps.eu/ceps-publications/raising-bar-thoughts-establishment-european-public-prosecutors-office/ )

alternate reading in Spanish: L. Luparia e J. Della Torre, Origen y antecedentes de la Fiscalía Europea, Riv. trim. dir. pen. cont., 2023 (open access: https://dpc-rivista-trimestrale.criminaljusticenetwork.eu/pdf/DPC%20Riv.%20Trim.%204_2022_def.pdf )

Optional reading about the history of the Italian judiciary: E. BRUTI-LIBERATI, Magistratura e società nell’Italia repubblicana, Laterza, Bari-Roma, 2018

Teaching methods

The course takes place during a semester and it is divided into two parts. Seminars will be organized during the course with the participation of distinguished experts and scholars.

Assessment methods

The exams of Constitutional law and Private law are pre-conditions to be admitted to the exam.

The final exam will be held in writing and will consist of 3 questions (maximum 10 points each) about the topics dealt with during the course, and in particular:

- one question on the principles

- one question about the organization of the justice system in general

- one question about the organization of criminal justice

The duration of the written test will be about 1,5 hours. The evaluation will take into account:

o the knowledge of institutional profiles;

o the ability to make connections between the different parts of the programme;

o the ability to develop critical arguments in summary form;

o the structure of the answers;

o the accuracy of the exposure.

The final grade will be determined as follows:

18-19: very poor knowledge of the course's contents

20-24: poor knowledge of the course's contents and limited capacity to organize critical thoughts

25-29: good knowledge of the course's contents and good capacity to organize critical thoughts

30-30 cum laude: excellent knowledge of the course's contents and excellent capacity to organize critical thoughts

Teaching tools

Slides and further documents will be used during the course to analyse specific subjects. They will be available in the virtual space of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Daniela Cavallini

See the website of Giulia Lasagni