The course studies the first part of the Italian constitution, dedicated to the rights and duties of citizens, in this perspective it examines:

1) the interpretative issues related to the identification, entitlement, limitations and means of protection of fundamental rights;

2) the protection of fundamental rights granted within the Council of Europe by the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights and its influence on domestic law.

A. General Part

1. Historical introduction and definitions - 2. The fundamental rights in the Italian constitutional tradition - 3. The holders of rights - 4. The limits to fundamental rights - 6. The inviolability of rights - 7. The equalilty principle

B. The international and supranational protection of human rights

1. Origins - 2. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) - 3. The ECHR in the Italian law - 4. The so-called ‘twin judgments’ of 2007 and their follow-up - 5. The European Court of Human Rights: organisation, litigation and judgments

C. Fundamental rights

1. Personal freedom - 2. Freedom of domicile - 3. Freedom of communication - 4. The right to privacy and protection of personal data - 5. Freedom of movement and stay - 6. Freedom of speech - 7. Freedom of religion - 8. Freedom of assembly 9. Freedom of association

D. The other fundamental rights

1. Economic rights - 2. Social rights - 3. Cultural rights - 4. The right to health - 5. The rights related to the beginning and end of life - 6. Fundamental rights within the family - 6. Political rights - 7. Duties

Constitutional Law

Knowledge and understanding: students will know the theoretical issues related to the recognition and protection of fundamental rights in the Italian legal system and the influence on it of the international protection of human rights, with particular reference to the conventional system established within the Council of Europe.

Applying knowledge and understanding: students will be able to systematically read the constitutional provisions relating to fundamental rights and to understand the legislative and jurisprudential implementation of the constitution, also on the basis of the knowledge acquired in the other degree courses (in particular civil law, criminal law, labour law and ecclesiastical law). With reference to the judicial implementation of the Constitution, they will be able to trace the argumentative path and decisional techniques used by the Constitutional Court.

Making Judgements: students will be able to recognise the different theoretical approaches to the interpretation of the Constitution and the legislative and judicial consequences deriving from them. With reference to constitutional caselaw, they will be able to recognise and critically evaluate the foundation and adequacy of the argumentative choices adopted by the Court.

Communication skills: students will be able to report in a clear and linear way the acquired knowledge and to report on the decisions of the Constitutional Court using specialised vocabulary.

Learning skills: students will be able to deal independently with the study of constitutional problems related to the protection of fundamental rights in the different areas of law.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Once the general part has been concluded, one of the three weekly lessons will be used to discuss the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights case law and to hold seminar meetings.

Innovative teaching methods

A flipped class room will be organised at the end of the course

Course books

M. Olivetti, Diritti fondamentali, Giappichelli, Torino, last edition

n.b. n.b. The publisher is planning a new edition of the volume for early 2025

Assessment

The assessment will consist of an oral exam in which three or more questions will be asked. The first question will deal with one of the cases dealt with during the course, at the student's choice. The evaluation criteria and the scale of marks are as follows:

• less than 18: competence level insufficient. The student doesn’t reach the learning results described in “knowledge and understanding”;

• 18-20: competence level sufficient. The student attains the learning results described in “knowledge and understanding”;

• 21-23: competence level satisfactory. The student attains the learning results described in “knowledge and understanding” and in “applied knowledge and understanding”;

• 24-26: competence level good. The student attains the learning results described in “knowledge and understanding”, “applied knowledge and understanding” and “making judgments”;

• 27-29: competence level very good. The student attains the learning results described in “knowledge and understanding”, “applied knowledge and understanding”, “making judgments” and “communication skills”;

• 30-30 with honours: competence level excellent. The student fully attains the learning results described in “knowledge and understanding”, “applied knowledge and understanding”, “making judgments” and “learning skills”.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Course books

M. Olivetti, Diritti fondamentali, Giappichelli, Torino, 2020, last edition.

n.b. The publisher has planned to release a new edition in early 2025.

Assessment

The assessment will consist of an oral exam in which three or more questions will be asked. The evaluation criteria and the scale of marks are as follows:

• less than 18: competence level insufficient. The student doesn’t reach the learning results described in “knowledge and understanding”;

• 18-20: competence level sufficient. The student attains the learning results described in “knowledge and understanding”;

• 21-23: competence level satisfactory. The student attains the learning results described in “knowledge and understanding” and in “applied knowledge and understanding”;

• 24-26: competence level good. The student attains the learning results described in “knowledge and understanding”, “applied knowledge and understanding” and “making judgments”;

• 27-29: competence level very good. The student attains the learning results described in “knowledge and understanding”, “applied knowledge and understanding”, “making judgments” and “communication skills”;

• 30-30 with honours: competence level excellent. The student fully attains the learning results described in “knowledge and understanding”, “applied knowledge and understanding”, “making judgments” and “learning skills”.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.