08949 - Comparative Constitutional Law (A-L)

Learning outcomes

The objective of the course of Comparative Constitutional Law is to provide students with basic knowledge on the comparative method in order to achieve both practical and theoretic purposes; the different Legal systems;  various forms of State and Government; and models of 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 to human rights provided by the 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 structured as follows:

1. Introduction to Comparative Constitutional Law

2. Classification of legal systems: the families

3. Constitution and Constitutionalism

4. The sources of law

5. The sources of civil law

6. The sources of common law

7.The Constitutional organization. Forms of State and forms of Government

8.Constitutional justice

Readings/Bibliography

L. Pegoraro, A. Rinella, Sistemi costituzionali, II ed., Giappichelli, Torino, 2024. 

COMPULSORY READING FOR THE ORAL EXAMINATION:

Choose one among the following: 

M. Nicolini, L’altra Law of the Land. La famiglia giuridica “mista” dell’Africa australe, BUP, Bologna, 2016

D. Amirante, La democrazia dei superlativi, Napoli, ESI, 2019 

P. Viola, Costituzionalismo autoctono. Pluralismo culturale e trapianti giuridici nel subcontinente indiano, B.U.P., Bologna, 2020

S. Bagni, S. Baldin, Latinoamérica. Viaggio nel costituzionalismo comparato dalla Patagonia al Río Grande, Giappichelli, 2021

E. Andreoli, La giustizia costituzionale negli Stati Uniti e in America Latina, B.U.P., Bologna, 2022 

For Erasmus or foreigner students:

G.F. Ferrari (cur.), Introduction to Italian Public Law, Giuffrè, Milano, 2008.  

Self-evaluation tools:

L. Pegoraro, Diritto pubblico e sistemi costituzionali comparati. Itinerari di apprendimento e di verifica, 2a ed., Giappichelli, Torino, 2020

Teaching methods

The course will be developed through lessons and conferences, also held by visiting foreigner Professors, with use of slides and internet, moodle.

Students are kindly encouraged to attend lessons and actively participate to the discussions.

This course participates in the University’s educational experimentation project.

Assessment methods

The exam for full-time students will consist of three mid-term exams and of a final oral exam, which will concern the part of the course not covered by the written examinations.

Written examination

During the course there will be three intermediate written tests about specific parts of the program; the aim of the these tests is to evaluate the level of knowledge of the topics explained during the lectures.

The two first intermediate examinations will consist in open questions; the third in a multiple choice test. The evaluation of the questions is based mainly on the capacity of the student to summarize and to strictly focus on the answer of the question given.

The evaluation will be given out of 30 points: the sufficient mark is 18/30.

The time given is 60 minutes for open questions exam; 30 minutes for the multiple choice test.

By the end of the lessons there will be a recovery test for students who wish to try to recover an insufficient test

Oral examination

All students will have to take an oral examination on the final part of the program not covered by the written tests.

If a student is absent during one intermediate test or the evaluation of one intermediate test is insufficient, that part will be added to the oral part of the exam. Both parts will be examined at the end of the course at the final oral exam.

Students who do not exceed 2 to 3 written intermediate exams, must take the exam as not-attending students.

The same rule is applied to FULL-TIME students who have attended the lectures but DID NOT take the intermediate exams.

The oral test is strictly complementary to the written tests and it is considered as a functional verification of the overall preparation of the candidate, but also as a tool to examine deeply the understanding of the contents of the syllabus. Therefore it is an important verification that concerns the whole program done.

The final mark is determined by the marks of the intermediate tests and the oral test, which must all be sufficient.

The results of the intermediate examinations and the status of full-time student will be considered valid until the exam sessions of June.

Exam for NOT ATTENDING students

The exam for non-full-time students will consist in a written examination composed by 3 open questions and a subsequent oral examination. The written test will be evaluated for the admission to the oral and the final evaluation. The two exams will be held on the same day and in the same place, so that the enrollment for the first examination includes also the enrollment for second.

During the winter session (January and February) students can take the exam just once: if they do not pass the exam on that date or they do not accept the grade, the exam can be taken again but only in June, or in the exam session of January/February in the next Academic Year.

Students in debt of exams from the previous A.Y  will follow the same procedures and the same criteria set out above for students NOT attending the ongoing Academic Year.

Teaching tools

On the moodle the teacher will publish all the information about the course: lessons, slides, programs of seminars and other relevant events, useful link to the study of constitutional comparative law, information about events organized by the Italian Section of the Instituto iberoamericano de derecho constitucional and by the Centro studi sull'America Latina.

Links to further information

https://centri.unibo.it/csal/it

Office hours

See the website of Silvia Bagni