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

- COMPARATIVE METHODOLOGY AND DIFFERENCE WITH FOREIGN LAW:

Targets, and applications

Selection of Case Studies

Practical Use (by parliaments, judges, scholarship)

Mainstream and critical visions

- FORMS OF STATE:

Federalism

Regionalism

Autonomies and Unitary States

- COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL ADJUDICATION:

US Model

"European" Model

Novel Yardsticks for classifications

- RULE OF LAW:

Concept

Interpretations in Comparative Constitutionalism

Focus on Europe and the Violations in the EU

The course is organized in lectures and seminars, as detailed in the following program. Lectures (30 hours) aim to introduce students to the core tenets of the discipline. Seminars (10 hours) aim to provide occasions for in-depth discussions of class materials and exercises. For the seminar section of the course, students will be divided in 4 groups. Students attend a total of 40 hours of classes.

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)

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, 22019, nd ed., pp. 88-110

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

R. Bifulco, “Federalism”, in The Cambridge Companion to Comparative Constitutional Law, edited Roger Masterman and Robert Schütze, 2019, pp. 312-332

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

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

A. Baraggia, M. Bonelli, “Linking Money to Values: The New Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation and Its Constitutional Challenges”, German Law Journal, 2022, pp. 131-156

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

L. Pech, "The Rule of Law", in Paul Craig, and Gráinne de Búrca (eds), The Evolution of EU Law, OUP, 2021, pp. 307-338

VVAA, The Rule of Law in the EU: Crisis and Solutions, Sieps 2023

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

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

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

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 and legislation or amendments will be used as materials.

Students are expected to engage in the discussions, particularly with respect to current issues. They are supposed to actively participate in the sessions and are encouraged to pursue independent research activity. They are required to read the materials in advance.

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

Assessment methods

FULL-TIME STUDENTS: 3 mid-term exams during the course; 1 final exam on the final part of the syllabus. The average of the two best grades determines the final grade. A retake exam is scheduled in December and in January or February an optional oral exam is open. 

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

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