88045 - 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

METHODOLOGY

History of comparative law

Targets, and applications

Selection of Case Studies

Practical Uses 

Mainstream and Critical Visions

From Families to Legal Traditions

COMPARATIVE FEDERALISM

Models of Decentralization

Secession Comparative Law

COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL ADJUDICATION

Traditional Classifications and New Categories

Adjudication on Constitutional Amendments

Relations with Supranational Courts

RULE OF LAW

Definition

European Comparative Constitutionalism

Violations in the EU

ECtHR's Standards, Council of Europe and Court of Justice

The course is organized in lectures and seminars, as detailed in the following program. Lectures aim to introduce students to the core tenets of the discipline. Seminars aim to provide occasions for in-depth discussions of class materials and exercises on the rule of law from a comparative perspective. For the seminar section of the course, students will be divided in 3 groups. 42 hours of the course belong to the teaching activities of the Jean Monnet Chair ROLLBACK "Rule of Law Backsliding in Europe" 2023-2026.

The course is as well a part of UNIBO's project of innovative teaching and starts with ONLINE or HYBRID classes as indicated in the calendar, to foster participation.

Readings/Bibliography

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)

G. Frankenberg, “Critical Comparisons: Re-thinking Comparative Law”, in Harvard international law journal, Vol. 26, 1985, p. 411-455

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

E. Grande, “Development of Comparative Law in Italy”, in The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law, edited by Mathias Reimann and Reinhard Zimmermann, 2019, nd ed., pp. 88-110

G. Halmai, “The Fall of the Rule of Law in Hungary and the Complicity of the EU”, Italian Journal of Public Law, 2020, pp. 205-223

D. Lustig, J.H.H. Weiler, "Judicial Review in the Contemporary World-Retrospective and Prospective", in International Journal of Constitutional Law, vol. 16, n. 2/2018.

M. Nicolini, S. Bagni, Comparative constitutional justice, Eleven, 2021, pp. 1-22

F. Palermo, K. Kössler, Comparative Federalism. Constitutional Arrangements and Case Law, Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2017, pp. 67-114

L. Pech, “The Rule of Law as a Well-Established and Well-Defined Principle of EU Law.” Hague Journal on the Rule of Law 14(2), 2022, pp. 107–138

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, “EUROPEAN COMPARATIVE LAW: Reasons for «Enhanced Comparison» and Role of the CJEU”, Revista de Derecho Político, 2021, pp. 297-325

S. Ragone, G. Smorto, Comparative Law: A Very Short Introduction, OUP, 2023 (chapters 1, 3, 7)

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

K.L. Scheppele, “The Life of the Rule of Law.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 20(Volume 20, 2024), pp. 17–33

T. Widłak, “Rule of Law and the Criteria for Appointment of Judges: A Case for Judicial Virtues.” Hague Journal on the Rule of Law 17(1), 2025, pp. 199–220.

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, by the EU Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, domestic legislation or constitutional amendments will be used as materials. 

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

Assessment methods

FULL-TIME STUDENTS: 2 mid-term exams during the course. A retake exam is scheduled in December and in January or February an optional oral exam is open on additional materials.

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.

Links to further information

https://site.unibo.it/jm-chair-rollback/en

Office hours

See the website of Sabrina Ragone