07309 - Public Law

Learning outcomes

The objective of the course is to provide students with:

1. a deep knowledge of the bases of our constitutional system and of the recent changes;

2. the capacity and the means to analyze and understand the organization of the State from the sources of the law to Constitutional jurisdiction;

3. the capacity to deal with the principles of the constitutional system;

4. the capacity to understand the meaning of the institutional changes and their consequences

The subject and the knowledge to achieve of this course is the regulation of Italian constitutional system, focusing especially on the sources of law and the form of State and government, and Constitutional Jurisprudence.

Course contents

The content of the program:

- Introduction to law

- Form of State

- Form of government

- The President of the Republic and its powers and acts

- The executive power: the government and its features

- Legislative power: the structure of the Parliament

- Legislative function

- Supervisory function

- The instruments of direct democracy

- Electoral system

- The sources of the law

- Constitutional sources

- The concept of Constitution: the Italian Constitution

- Ordinary laws and sources of the same level

- Referendum as a source

- The news structure of regional sources

- Internal regulation of the institutions

- Secondary sources

- Unwritten law

- International sources and European Union's sources

- Constitutional Court and its competences

- The freedoms and rights

- Auxiliary organs

- The judicial power

- Regionali and Local government

- Public Administration

- Public Authority

Readings/Bibliography

Student can choose one of the following texts in italian to prepare for the exam:

1) ROBERTO BIN - GIOVANNI PITRUZZELLA, Diritto Pubblico, Giappichelli, Torino, last edition

2) TANIA GROPPI - ANDREA SIMONCINI, Introduzione allo studio del Diritto Pubblico e delle sue fonti, Giappichelli, last edition

or this one in english:

3) STEFANIA NINATTI, GIOVANNI PICCIRILLI, GIORGIO REPETTO, DILETTA TEGA, Italian costitutional law in the European context, Wolters Kluwer, Padova, 2023

Teaching methods

The lessons will take place with the traditional method of the frontal lesson.

The oral lesson will be accompanied by the constant use of schemes to help understand and comment on the most important constitutional and ordinary legislation, as well as the most relevant judgments of the Constitutional Court, the Council of State, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights, all available from the institutional sites of these bodies.

Assessment methods

The lessons will take place in the second semester; therefore students who are enrolled in the first year of the course will be able to take the exam starting from May 2025.

The final exam of the course consists of an oral test where the student must demonstrate his ability to master and know the program, with particular regard to the forms of state and government, the sources of law, the system fundamental freedoms, to the constitutional justice system and to the constitutional bodies in their mutual relationship, public administrations and independent administrative authorities.

Regarding the exam, the graduation of the final assessment will be performed according to the following scheme:


• <18 non sufficient


• 18-23 sufficient


• 24-27 good


• 28-30 very good


• 30 and lode excellent

Teaching tools

The Constitution of Italian Republic

Constitutional and ordinary law

Case law, of Constitutional Court, of European Court of Giustice and European Court of Human Rights, taken by istitutionally websites.

It may be useful for the student to visit the main websites of the constitutional bodies or supranational organizations:

Parliament: https://www.parlamento.it/home

Government: https://www.governo.it/

Repubblic President: https://www.quirinale.it/

Constitutional Court: https://www.cortecostituzionale.it/default.do

CSM: https://www.csm.it/

Regions: http://www.regioni.it/

European Union: https://europa.eu/european-union/index_it

UE Justice Court: https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/institutions-bodies/court-justice_it

European Council: https://www.coe.int/it/

Office hours

See the website of Michele Belletti