05896 - Judiciary Regulation System

Academic Year 2018/2019

Learning outcomes

The course aims at providing knowledge about:

a) the role of the judicial power in States with democratic and liberal tradition

b) the structure of the administration of justice in Italy

c) the organization and the jurisdiction of the Italian judicial offices

d) the anomaly of our Country in comparison to the other democratic States, with particular reference to Europe, notwithstanding the recent judicial and constitutional reforms.

Course contents

The course aims at providing knowledge about:

a) the role of the judicial power in States with democratic and liberal tradition

b) the structure of the administration of justice in Italy

c) the organization and the jurisdiction of the Italian judicial offices

d) the anomaly of our Country in comparison to the other democratic States, with particular reference to Europe, notwithstanding the recent judicial and constitutional reforms

e) the role of the judge and the public prosecutor in the European Union Area of freedom, security and justice.

 

In order to facilitate the learning process, the course is divided in two parts.

Part 1

1. The role of the judge in democratic countries. The extension, both qualitative and quantitative, of the judicial function. The problem of democratic legitimacy of the power of judges. The difficulty to balance judge's independence with accountability. The solutions adopted in other countries. The Italian case.

2. The role of public prosecutor's in democratic regimes. The feature of public prosecution function. The fundamental values of autonomy and accountability. The Italian public prosecutor in comparative perspective.

3. The ordinary magistracy. The French model. Establishment and evolution in the liberal and fascist period. The Constitution and the changes in the Republican period: a) recruitment, b) career; c) disciplinary accountability.

4. The Superior Council of the Magistracy. The Judicial Boards. The Heads of courts and public prosecutor offices. The Ministry of Justice.

5. The judiciary and the public prosecutor in the Italian system.

6. The recent reforms in the justice sector. 

 

Part 2

1. The Italian judge acting as "European judge" at the intersection of different legal and judicial systems (EU law, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms). The relationship among national and international systems. 

2. The new challenges coming from the EU Area of freedom, security and justice: the judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters.

 

The course will have an historical and comparative perspective, with links to civil and criminal procedural law. Special attention will be devoted to the interpretation of statutes made by the Superior Council and to the jurisprudence of the Constitutional, administrative and ordinary courts. The course will refer to the empirical research carried out by the Research Center for Judicial Studies (CeSROG) Via Zamboni, 26, Bologna.

This course assumes a basic knowledge of public law by the students.

Readings/Bibliography

Required texts:

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

 

Required texts must be supplemented by one of the following issues:

1. Judicial organization:

- F. CONTINI, La qualità della giustizia: dal conflitto al dialogo, in D. Cavallini (a cura di), Argomenti di ordinamento giudiziario, Bup, Bologna, 2014, cap. 6

- S. ZAN, Il sistema organizzativo della giustizia civile in Italia: caratteristiche e prospettive, in Quaderni di Giustizia e organizzazione, Comiug, n. 1.

2. Criminal proceedings and the rights of the defence:

- G. DI FEDERICO, Il pubblico ministero: indipendenza, responsabilità, carriera separata da quella del giudice, in G. Di Federico (a cura di), Manuale di Ordinamento Giudiziario, Cedam, Padova, 2004, pp. 415-452

- G. DI FEDERICO, I diritti della difesa nella fase delle indagini, in G. Di Federico e M. Sapignoli, I diritti della difesa nel processo penale e la riforma della giustizia. Le esperienze di 1265 avvocati penalisti, Cedam, Padova, 2014, cap. II (pp. 21-78)

Teaching methods

The method will be ex cathedra. A few seminars may be organized with magistrates and experts on specific issues.

Assessment methods

Oral exam.

Teaching tools

Slides and further documents may 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