Teaching code

4S008454

Teacher

Giampietro Ferri

Coordinator

Giampietro Ferri

Credits

12

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

IUS/08 - CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

Period

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

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

The course aims at giving students the basic tools to comprehend the constitutional legal methodology in relation to the sources of law (basic level), the form of Italian government, the structure of the Constitution and of the provisions thereof. The course's goal is to offer to students the knowledge required to be aware of their rights/duties as citizens and to understand the dynamics of the public decision-making processes. At the end of the course, students shall be able to interpret the provisions of the Italian Constitution, to deal with juridical questions by adopting a Constitution-oriented approach and to solve basic applicative issues related to the sources of law. Students shall also be able to autonomously form their opinions on public facts connected to the constitutional law

Prerequisites and basic notions

Nobody

Program

The course will cover the following subjects:
1. Law:
- the distinction between subjective and objective law
- the distinction between law and regulation
- legal system concepts
- the differing characteristics of legal norms
2. Sources of law
- Basic notions (sources of production and sources of cognition, statutory and custom sources, typical and atypical sources)
- Typology: constitutional sources, primary state sources (in particular, law decree and legislative decree) and secondary sources, regional sources, international and foreign sources, and European
- criteria for resolving contrasts between sources
3. The State:
- historical formation
- constitutive elements (nation, country, and sovereignty)
- State structures and classifications
- distinctions between state structures and government structures
4. The Italian Constitution:
- introduction: the concept of the Constitution
- origins
- features
- fundamental principles
- rights and duties of citizens
- constitutional bodies:
a) Parliament
b) the Government
c) the President of the Republic
d) the Constitutional Court
- judiciary power
- regions and local autonomy.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

72 hours (12 CFU) of lectures

Learning assessment procedures

Final examination
The final exam will have two parts. In the first, students must respond in writing to three open questions to verify an understanding of the text of the Constitution, and to resolve basic applied law source problems. In the second, students must respond to oral questioning to determine whether they are capable of independent, critical analysis of the subjects covered during the course.
For students attending the course, there will be an optional midterm examination of open questions on the subjects covered during the course. Students who pass this exam must then take an oral exam on a fixed date that covers the remaining part of the course.
ERASMUS students should discuss exam options with the professor.

Language
Italian


Final grading
The final grade is out of 30 possible points, and will be determined by the average of the written and oral exam scores. The written exam will cover all of the course topics (from 1 to 4: law, sources of law, the State, and the Italian Constitution The maximum score, 30/30 points, will be divided as follows between the four topics of the program: 1) 3 points; 2) 7 points; 3) 4 points; 4) 16 points.
For attending students who have taken the midterm exam, the final grade will be determined by the result of the midterm and final oral exams, with their scores proportional to the total amount of course subject matter covered in each.

Evaluation criteria

The exam is aimed at ascertaining, in addition to acquiring the required knowledge, that students have acquired sufficient analytical skills. In particular, the test is aimed at verifying:
- the depth and breadth of the acquired knowledge
- the property of language
- the ability to connect knowledge in a systematic form;
- analytical and argumentative ability

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

30/30

Exam language

Italiano