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

The course is organised into lectures and seminars, according to the logic of the inverted classroom. 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. Students attend lectures on theoretical interpretations. In the seminar section, students are divided into two groups. The organization of online classes will depend on the
evolution of the pandemic emergency.

 

CONTENTS

1) COMPARATIVE METHODOLOGY: methods and their application; foreign law; case studies' selection and models; targets of Comparative Law 

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

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

4) POLITICAL SYSTEMS: Parliamentary Systems; Presidentialism; Semipresidentialism; Electoral Systems

5) ECOLOGY AND COMPARATIVE LAW: normative models for sustainable development; environmental comparative constitutionalism; climate change [14 HOURS SEMINARS]

Readings/Bibliography

D. Amirante, S. Bagni (eds.), Environmental Constitutionalism in the Anthropocene: Values, Principles and Actions, Routledge, New York/London, 2021 (chapters by D. Amirante, S. Bagni, and P. Viola)

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) 

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

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

E. Grande, “Development of Comparative Law in Italy”, in The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law, edited by Mathias Reimann and Reinhard Zimmermann, 22019, nd ed., pp. 88-110

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

L.J. Kotzé, R.E. Kim, "Earth system law: The juridical dimensions of earth system Governance", Earth System Governance, 2019,pp. 1-10

S. Ragone, “Catalonia’s recent strive for independence: a legal approach”, in Autonomies in Europe: Solutions and Challenges, Budapest, L'Harmattan, 2014, pp. 69–79

 

Additional texts, articles, cases and materials will be provided and/or recommended during the course.

Teaching methods

The course will be based on both traditional lectures and more interactive methods. In addition to the recommended texts, also judgments by different supreme or constitutional courts and legislation or amendments will be used as case studies, as well as academic articles and newspapers, particularly in the seminars.

Students are expected to engage in the discussions, dealing with the developments of comparative constitutional and public law. They are supposed to actively participate in the sessions and are encouraged to pursue independent research activity.

Traditional methods will be often combined with PPT presentations and the consultation of legal texts. Specific readings and topics will be discussed with the students in class.

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 can opt for retaking one during the final oral examination.

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

See the website of Silvia Bagni