Teaching code

4S01086

Teacher

Matteo Nicolini

Coordinator

Matteo Nicolini

Credits

6

Language

English

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

IUS/21 - COMPARATIVE PUBLIC LAW

Period

1° periodo lezioni (1B) dal Nov 5, 2025 al Dec 17, 2025.

Courses Single

Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

The course aims at providing students with an advanced knowledge of topics and methods of constitutional comparative law and an adequate knowledge of the institutions (sources of law, constitutional litigation, federalism and regionalism) into which the course has delved. At the end of the course, students shall be able to reflect in terms of legal institutions in comparative perspective, classify legal institutions according to comparative legal taxonomies and apply the comparative legal method. Students shall also have acquired the capacity to consciously use specific terms relating to comparative law themes and speak precisely about the constitutional law in comparative legal perspective.

Prerequisites and basic notions

Fair knowledge of comparative public law with particular reference to concepts such as constitution, constitutional amendments, constitutional justice, and judiciary.
Knowledge of the English language.

Program

1. Defining Comparative Constitutional Justice.
2. Comparative method and constitutional justice: classifications and models of constitutional adjudication.
3. Composition and legitimacy of constitutional adjudicators.
4. Constitutional yardsticks. Object of review. Access to constitutional justice.
5. Ancillary powers of constitutional adjudicators.
6. Origins of the judicial review: from the English antecedents to the U.S. constitutional history.
7. Political v. judicial review. The French constitutional experience. Constitutional adjudication under Soviet and Islamic constitutions.
8. Concentrated v Diffuse judicial review. Judicial review in common law legal systems. The dissemination of the U.S. model outside the common law realm: Latino-American countries and Portugal. UK and Switzerland.
9. The Kelsenian model. Its circulation in Europe.
10. Judicial Review on federal grounds.
11. Litigating fundamental rights.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

Students attending the course will actively participate in it. During the lectures, the class will discuss and present several models of judicial review of legislation and examine the most relevant judgements that have contributed to developing the role of constitutional adjudicators.
Lectures will be held in presence.
Any supplementary and supporting teaching materials will be made available to students who adhere to the PA 110 e lode protocol, and also, as envisaged by the University guidelines, to students who are in particular situations of fragility, with disabilities or suffering from learning disorders (following notification of and in coordination with the Inclusion Unit).

Learning assessment procedures

Students that have regularly attended classes will be assessed as follows.
During the course, they will be asked to deliver a presentation, a multiple-choice test, and a short essay involving questions, case, and judgements dealt with during the course. The presentation, the test, and the essay will be taken into account when determining the final mark.
Non-attending students
Non-attending students are required to take an oral exam. The exam will consist of an oral discussion, aims at verifying the knowledge of the fundamentals of comparative constitutional justice.
Erasmus students
Erasmus students that have regularly attended classes are granted the possibility to write an essay on a topic agreed by the instructor.

Evaluation criteria

Students attending the course: the knowledge of the topics will be assessed through the essay and the test, whereas the ability to critically analyse theoretical concepts will be ascertained through the presentation.
Students not attending the course: knowledge and critical understanding will be assesses through an oral examination.
The final vote will be expressed out of 30.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The final grade is made up based on the verification of the mentioned criteria. In addition to the notions acquired, the grade is given by the ownership of the technical language used, the ability to connect between topics and institutes, and the analytical and argumentative ability. For attending students, active participation in lessons is also taken into account, which provides additional points.

Exam language

Italiano