Insegnamento a.a. 2023-2024

The course offers an overview of selected themes and concepts in constitutional law understood as the set of rules governing:

1. The State's exercise of public powers and the creation of law.
2. The relationships between different constitutional bodies.
3. The rights of individuals (and firms) vis a vis the State.

It emphasizes the contextual, comparative and transnational study of public law by addressing the evolution of constitutions within the broader historical, economic, and social context. The topics covered include:

• General Categories: Features of legal systems; Functions and features of Constitutions; Sources of law.
• Forms of State and Forms of Government: Diachronic analysis of Forms of State; Synchronic analysis of Forms of Government; Transitions to democracy; Electoral systems; Federalism, regionalism and devolution.
• Constitutional Justice: Composition, role and functions of Constitutional and Supreme Courts; American and European models of constitutional review; Discussion of landmark cases.
• The legal system of the European Union: System of legal sources and the relationship between European law and domestic legislation; the institutional structure; the evolution of the case law of the CJEU.
• Individual rights: Political, civil and social rights and related safeguards in a comparative context.
• Economic Constitution: Economic rights; Regulation of trade and commerce; Competition law; Monetary and fiscal policy.
• Global Constitutionalism: the WTO and other supranational organizations.

• Define key concepts and institutions of public law.
• Describe the nature and functions of Constitutions in their historical evolution.
• Describe the nature and functions of specific public law institutions (e.g. parliament, judicial review, human rights protection).
• Describe the features of specific institutions in selected jurisdictions, mostly in Europe and the US.
• Describe the features and functions of selected supranational organizations, in particular the European Union.
• Describe current constitutional law developments (e.g. globalization, illiberal trends).
• Identify the political, social and economic factors that have an impact upon legal systems and constitutions.
• Explain how similar problems of government are solved by different institutions in different national contexts.
• Recognize constitutional law problems and challenges as they emerge in real-life.
• Defend arguments about the advantages and disadvantages of specific public law institutions with particular regard to their economic and political consequences.
• Summarize and communicate concisely the concepts and systems considered during the course.

• Compare and connect public law institutions across geographical and historical contexts.
• Comment on constitutional law developments as observed in the world.
• Apply the legal categories and rules studied in class to real situations as emerging in everyday life or contemporary affairs.
• Reflect upon how public law impacts on economic activities at the individual and collective level
• Articulate opinions on the desirability of specific public law institutions and their consequences
• Provide advice and suggestions on essential elements of constitutional and policy reform.
• Develop legal reasoning skills.
• Improve communication and argumentative skills.

• Face-to-face lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
• Group assignments
• Interactive class activities on campus/online (role playing, business game, simulation, online forum, instant polls)

• All classes are a combination of lectures and discussion.
• During classes, the instructors presents students with problems drawn from legal decisions,recent constitutional history, and current political and constitutional developments which allow to critically apply the concepts studied during the course. Students may be divided in groups and asked to defend alternative solutions with regard to the problems being discussed.
• The course may take advantage of some of the many legal scholars which are regularly visiting Bocconi and invite them to give talks to the class on specific relevant topics.

No distinction between attending and non attending students.

The final written, closed book exam consists of a mix of closed questions, short definitional questions, and one essay question. This assessment method is aimed at verifying students’ substantive knowledge of Comparative Public Law, including the structure of governments and the constitutional assets throughout Europe and North America but also with reference to other constitutonal systems across the globe.

The group assignment is aimed at testing the students’ ability to interact in a constructive way and to think critically about the content of the course

• Selected chapters of G.F. FERRARI (ed.), Introduction to Italian Public Law, Milan, 2018.
• Additional articles as indicated in the syllabus, made available through blackboard by the instructors.
• Readings, cases and materials provided during the course of the semester, made available through blackboard or distributed in class.
• Slides and class notes.