History of the Criminal Justice
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide students critical tools in order to understand the various aspects of the history of penal justice from Italian unification to the late XX century in each political, cultural, economic and social context from 'Liberal' Kingdom, to Fascism, to the Italian Republic.
The learning objective of the course, therefore, is to illustrate the legislative, doctrinal and jurisprudential choices in order to balance out different values and interests, especially through the technical examination of legal argumentation and reasoning, as well as the analysis of case studies.
The learning objective of the course, therefore, is to illustrate the legislative, doctrinal and jurisprudential choices in order to balance out different values and interests, especially through the technical examination of legal argumentation and reasoning, as well as the analysis of case studies.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will have to demonstrate
- to know and understand the grounds of legislative, doctrinal and jurisprudential choices and the relationship between powers about criminal justice and trial from 'Liberal' Kingdom, to Fascism, to the Republic (Knowledge and understanding)
- the ability to understand the various techniques of legal reasoning, as well as the ability to collect, analyze and select data based on context, balancing out different values and interests (Applying knowledge and understanding)
- critical awareness, management skills, flexibility, and a capacity for research into different aspects of the history of the XIX and XX centuries penal justice (Making Judgements).
- to write and to speak about the concepts learned during the course, utilizing coherent argumentation, methodical precision and correct language (Communication skills).
- to understand the various aspects of criminal justice and the development of lawmakers, legal science and judiciary within the relationship between State and society (Learning skills)
- to know and understand the grounds of legislative, doctrinal and jurisprudential choices and the relationship between powers about criminal justice and trial from 'Liberal' Kingdom, to Fascism, to the Republic (Knowledge and understanding)
- the ability to understand the various techniques of legal reasoning, as well as the ability to collect, analyze and select data based on context, balancing out different values and interests (Applying knowledge and understanding)
- critical awareness, management skills, flexibility, and a capacity for research into different aspects of the history of the XIX and XX centuries penal justice (Making Judgements).
- to write and to speak about the concepts learned during the course, utilizing coherent argumentation, methodical precision and correct language (Communication skills).
- to understand the various aspects of criminal justice and the development of lawmakers, legal science and judiciary within the relationship between State and society (Learning skills)
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
The course aims to examine the relationship between executive and judicial powers in the history of the 19th and 20th centuries penal justice, from 'Liberal' Kingdom, to Fascism, to the first decades of the Constitutional Republic.
Judiciary's structure and penal procedure, in each political, cultural, economic and social context, are a good vantage point in order to investigate the role played by lawmakers, legal science, judiciary and lawyers in balancing diverse interests. Among these interests, preserving the social order, securing the society and the State against the crime, granting rights of defence, ascertaining the truth and building public's trust in justice are at times conflicting with each other.
The course aims to provide the critical tools to analyse the aspects of the penal justice and to reflect on the areas of tension between politics and justice.
The course mainly focuses on:
- Penal procedure between the 19th and the 20th centuries (with particular regard to the right to defense)
- Inquisitorial proceedings vs. adversarial process
- Judicial system between the 19th and the 20th centuries (with particular concern to independence of the judges)
- Trial jury
- Role of jurisprudence and of the doctrine
Topics for both courses of 6 and 9 credits:
1. Liberal period: the 1865 code of criminal procedure; the 1865 judicial system law; the 1889 penal code (and the debate over death penalty); the 1913 code of criminal procedure
2. Fascism: the Special Court for the defense of the State (also in the Italian colony of Lybia); the 1930 codes: the 1923 and 1941 judicial system laws
For the course of 9 credits:
3. the Italian republic: transitional justice (1943-1948); implementation of the 1948 democratic Constitution (with particular regard to the independence of the judiciary and the right to defence); the role of judiciary and advocacy; emergency laws during the 70s and the 80s of the 20th century
Judiciary's structure and penal procedure, in each political, cultural, economic and social context, are a good vantage point in order to investigate the role played by lawmakers, legal science, judiciary and lawyers in balancing diverse interests. Among these interests, preserving the social order, securing the society and the State against the crime, granting rights of defence, ascertaining the truth and building public's trust in justice are at times conflicting with each other.
The course aims to provide the critical tools to analyse the aspects of the penal justice and to reflect on the areas of tension between politics and justice.
The course mainly focuses on:
- Penal procedure between the 19th and the 20th centuries (with particular regard to the right to defense)
- Inquisitorial proceedings vs. adversarial process
- Judicial system between the 19th and the 20th centuries (with particular concern to independence of the judges)
- Trial jury
- Role of jurisprudence and of the doctrine
Topics for both courses of 6 and 9 credits:
1. Liberal period: the 1865 code of criminal procedure; the 1865 judicial system law; the 1889 penal code (and the debate over death penalty); the 1913 code of criminal procedure
2. Fascism: the Special Court for the defense of the State (also in the Italian colony of Lybia); the 1930 codes: the 1923 and 1941 judicial system laws
For the course of 9 credits:
3. the Italian republic: transitional justice (1943-1948); implementation of the 1948 democratic Constitution (with particular regard to the independence of the judiciary and the right to defence); the role of judiciary and advocacy; emergency laws during the 70s and the 80s of the 20th century
Prerequisites for admission
As requested by the didactic regulation: in particular, Institutions of Private Law and Constitutional Law are preparatory.
Teaching methods
Attendance to classes is strongly recommended although not compulsory. The teaching is delivered through frontal lectures aimed primarily at the acquisition of knowledge and competence of the subject. Discussion with the teacher in the classroom on case studies is integrant part of the didactic method and aims at promoting a critical attitude and the capacity to argumentation.
The teaching is also based on didactic material and sources provided on Ariel.
The teaching is also based on didactic material and sources provided on Ariel.
Teaching Resources
For attending students of the course of 6 credits:
in addition to the slides avaible on Ariel, the following texts:
Marco Miletti, La giustizia penale, in Enciclopedia italiana. Il contributo italiano alla storia del pensiero. Diritto, Roma, Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani, 2012 https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/la-giustizia-penale_res-df4e2255-ab27-11e2-9d1b-
00271042e8d9_%28Il-Contributo-italiano-alla-storia-del-Pensiero:-Diritto%29/
Floriana Colao, Le scuole penalistiche, in Enciclopedia italiana. Il contributo italiano alla storia del pensiero. Diritto, Roma, Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani, 2012 https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/le-scuole-penalistiche_(Il-Contributo-italiano-alla-storia-del-
Pensiero:-Diritto)/
Claudia Storti, Stato d'assedio a Milano. Maggio 1898, in Istituzioni politiche e mobilitazioni di massa, a cura di A. Ciampani, D.M. Bruni, Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino, 2018
Raffaella Bianchi Riva, Elisabetta D'Amico, Pier Amato Perretta. Un magistrato tra giustizia e politica, in Pier Amato Perretta un uomo in difesa della libertà, Como, Nodo libri, 2005, pp. 51-92
Alessandra Bassani - Ambra Cantoni, Il segreto politico nella giurisprudenza del Tribunale speciale per la difesa dello stato in Il diritto del duce: giustizia e repressione nell'Italia fascista, a cura di L. Lacchè, Donzelli Roma 2015, pp. 175-206
Alessandra Bassani - Ambra Cantoni, Tra coercizione e consenso : usare il
diritto per formare l''uomo nuovo" in Rivista di storia del diritto italiano XC, pp. 137-162
Alessandra Bassani, Il Tribunale Speciale per la Difesa dello Stato tra diritto e propaganda: il 'caso Donati' nella stampa quotidiana in Italian Review of Legal History 10 (2024)
Guido Neppi Modona, Principio di legalità e giustizia penale nel periodo fascista, in Quaderni fiorentini per la storia del pensiero politico moderno 36 (2007), pp. 983-1005
for the attending students of the course of 9 credits:
slides and, in addition to the texts for students of the course of 6 credits, the following texts:
Raffaella Bianchi Riva, "Per superiori ragioni di giustizia e di pubblico interesse". Legislazione eccezionale e principi liberali dal fascismo alla repubblica, in Giustizia penale e politica tra Otto e Novecento. Modelli ed esperienze tra integrazione e conflitto, a cura di F. Colao, L. Lacchè e C. Storti, Milano, Giuffrè, 2015, pp. 155-179
Raffaella Bianchi Riva, "Una saggia politica criminale". I 'ragazzi di Salò' nella giurisprudenza della corte di cassazione, in «Italian Review of Legal History», 5, 2019, pp. 384-436
Raffaella Bianchi Riva, Tra sicurezza collettiva e garanzie individuali. Emergenza terroristica e valori costituzionali negli anni Settanta e Ottanta del Novecento, in Valori dell'ordinamento vs. esigenze dell'emergenza in una prospettiva multidisciplinare, a cura di R. Sacchi, Milano, Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre, 2022, pp. 49-77
Corte cost. 1 del 1956
Corte cost. 11 del 1965
Corte cost. 52 del 1965
Corte cost. 190 del 1970
For not-attending students of the course of 6 credits:
- Il diritto del duce. Giustizia e repressione nell'Italia fascista, a cura di L. Lacchè, Roma, Donzelli, 2015
For not-attending students of the course of 9 credits:
- Giustizia penale e politica in Italia tra Otto e Novecento. Modelli ed esperienze tra integrazione e conflitto, a cura di F. Colao, L. Lacchè, C. Storti, Milano, Giuffrè, 2015
in addition to the slides avaible on Ariel, the following texts:
Marco Miletti, La giustizia penale, in Enciclopedia italiana. Il contributo italiano alla storia del pensiero. Diritto, Roma, Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani, 2012 https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/la-giustizia-penale_res-df4e2255-ab27-11e2-9d1b-
00271042e8d9_%28Il-Contributo-italiano-alla-storia-del-Pensiero:-Diritto%29/
Floriana Colao, Le scuole penalistiche, in Enciclopedia italiana. Il contributo italiano alla storia del pensiero. Diritto, Roma, Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani, 2012 https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/le-scuole-penalistiche_(Il-Contributo-italiano-alla-storia-del-
Pensiero:-Diritto)/
Claudia Storti, Stato d'assedio a Milano. Maggio 1898, in Istituzioni politiche e mobilitazioni di massa, a cura di A. Ciampani, D.M. Bruni, Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino, 2018
Raffaella Bianchi Riva, Elisabetta D'Amico, Pier Amato Perretta. Un magistrato tra giustizia e politica, in Pier Amato Perretta un uomo in difesa della libertà, Como, Nodo libri, 2005, pp. 51-92
Alessandra Bassani - Ambra Cantoni, Il segreto politico nella giurisprudenza del Tribunale speciale per la difesa dello stato in Il diritto del duce: giustizia e repressione nell'Italia fascista, a cura di L. Lacchè, Donzelli Roma 2015, pp. 175-206
Alessandra Bassani - Ambra Cantoni, Tra coercizione e consenso : usare il
diritto per formare l''uomo nuovo" in Rivista di storia del diritto italiano XC, pp. 137-162
Alessandra Bassani, Il Tribunale Speciale per la Difesa dello Stato tra diritto e propaganda: il 'caso Donati' nella stampa quotidiana in Italian Review of Legal History 10 (2024)
Guido Neppi Modona, Principio di legalità e giustizia penale nel periodo fascista, in Quaderni fiorentini per la storia del pensiero politico moderno 36 (2007), pp. 983-1005
for the attending students of the course of 9 credits:
slides and, in addition to the texts for students of the course of 6 credits, the following texts:
Raffaella Bianchi Riva, "Per superiori ragioni di giustizia e di pubblico interesse". Legislazione eccezionale e principi liberali dal fascismo alla repubblica, in Giustizia penale e politica tra Otto e Novecento. Modelli ed esperienze tra integrazione e conflitto, a cura di F. Colao, L. Lacchè e C. Storti, Milano, Giuffrè, 2015, pp. 155-179
Raffaella Bianchi Riva, "Una saggia politica criminale". I 'ragazzi di Salò' nella giurisprudenza della corte di cassazione, in «Italian Review of Legal History», 5, 2019, pp. 384-436
Raffaella Bianchi Riva, Tra sicurezza collettiva e garanzie individuali. Emergenza terroristica e valori costituzionali negli anni Settanta e Ottanta del Novecento, in Valori dell'ordinamento vs. esigenze dell'emergenza in una prospettiva multidisciplinare, a cura di R. Sacchi, Milano, Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre, 2022, pp. 49-77
Corte cost. 1 del 1956
Corte cost. 11 del 1965
Corte cost. 52 del 1965
Corte cost. 190 del 1970
For not-attending students of the course of 6 credits:
- Il diritto del duce. Giustizia e repressione nell'Italia fascista, a cura di L. Lacchè, Roma, Donzelli, 2015
For not-attending students of the course of 9 credits:
- Giustizia penale e politica in Italia tra Otto e Novecento. Modelli ed esperienze tra integrazione e conflitto, a cura di F. Colao, L. Lacchè, C. Storti, Milano, Giuffrè, 2015
Assessment methods and Criteria
- Method: oral exam
- Type of examination: oral interrogation
- Evaluation criteria: capacity to demonstrate and elaborate knowledge; quality of exposition, efficacy, clarity; the use of specialised lexicon; capacity for critical reflection
- Type of evaluation method: mark in 30s
The format of the exam for students with disabilities should be arranged in advance with the professor.
- Type of examination: oral interrogation
- Evaluation criteria: capacity to demonstrate and elaborate knowledge; quality of exposition, efficacy, clarity; the use of specialised lexicon; capacity for critical reflection
- Type of evaluation method: mark in 30s
The format of the exam for students with disabilities should be arranged in advance with the professor.
IUS/19 - HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL AND MODERN LAW - University credits: 9
Lessons: 63 hours
Professors:
Bassani Alessandra Clara Carmela, Bianchi Riva Raffaella
Educational website(s)