Teaching code

4S01090

Teacher

Lorenzo Picotti

Coordinator

Lorenzo Picotti

Credits

9

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

IUS/17 - CRIMINAL LAW

Period

1st lecture period (1A), 1° periodo lezioni (1B)

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

The course aims at offering the basic notions of the “general part” of the Italian criminal law, in a critical and constitutional-oriented approach. Students will be able to understand the general categories of the current criminal law system and to assess the reasons and the implications both on logical-systematic and political-criminal options level.

Prerequisites and basic notions

To take the Criminal Law 1 exam, students must have passed the Private Law and Constitutional Law exams

Program

The course will be divided into the following parts:

1st Part: The evolution and the general characteristics of the criminal law
• The basis and limits of the punitive power of the State
• Comparison between the basic characteristics of the 1889 Italian Penal Code (so-called “Zanardelli Code”) and the 1930 Italian Penal Code (so-called “Rocco Code”)
• The influence of the Constitution of 1947 as well as the Constitutional Court case-law on the criminal justice system

2nd Part: The criminal legislation in a multilevel legal system

• Sources of criminal law
• The fundamental principle of legality (lex certa and lex scripta principles, non-retroactivity principle)
• The influence of the International and European Law on the Italian criminal law

3rd Part: The structure and the objective elements of the criminal offence
• The concept and function of the legal good (“bene giuridico”; “Rechtsgut”)
• The notion of “actus reus” (“fatto tipico”; “Tatbestand”)
• The active or omissive conduct
• The wrongful result and the rules of causation

4thPart: The unlawfulness of the act (“cause di giustificazione”; Rechtswidrigkeit”)
• Justification and excuse

5th Part: Subjective elements of the criminal offence (“mens rea”): culpability principle (“principio di colpevolezza”; “Schuldprinzip”)
• Intention (“dolo”)
• Negligence (“colpa”, “Fahrlässigkeit”)
• Preterintention and strict liability
• Ignorance and mistake of law

6th Part: The different forms and manifestations of the criminal offence
• The attempt
• Complicity and joint criminal enterprise
• Circumstances of the criminal offence
• Concurrence of offences

7th Part: The consequences of the criminal offence
• The “binary system” of criminal penalties and security measures
• The function and the general purposes of the criminal penalty
• The accessory penalties and the causes of extinction of the crime

NB. The discipline of corporate liability for crimes (Legislative Decree no. 231 of 2001), which is the subject of the Criminal Law 2 course, is therefore not included in the course program, therefore the study of the last chapter XV of the recommended Manual is not required.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

TEACHING METHODS

Language of teaching for this course is Italian. All literature and auxiliary materials are also in Italian.

The course will be based on lectures and slides concerning the basis and fundamental categories of the Italian Criminal Law. Workshops or seminars about specific topics or case studies could be organized (if possible) during the course. The online registration of lessons to the University e-learning platform will provide students with a source of reference, bibliography, scientific papers and selected case-law.

The professor will provide support to students non-attending classes during the office hours

Learning assessment procedures

ERASMUS students are kindly requested to contact the Professor at the beginning of the course, in order the possibility to agree on the exam’s program and the parts of reference books to study.

Evaluation criteria

The final exam aims at verifying:

• the level of achievement of the learning outcomes previously identified
• the linguistic accuracy
• the argumentative, reasoning and problem-solving skills
• the ability to connect systematically the knowledge achieved

Students attending classes have the possibility to write a short paper on specific topics of the program, upon agreement with the Professor. The paper will be discussed during the oral examination and will constitute part of the program.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

Grades are awarded on a scale from 18 to 30, where 30 is the highest grade and 18 is the lowest grade to pass the exam. In case of an excellent knowledge, a high level of linguistic accuracy and an argumentative, reasoning and problem-solving capacity the candidate may earn the highest grade with “cum laude” honor.

Exam language

Italiano