Public Law

The course introduces the main features of the legal phenomenon, the classification of the legal subjects, the elements of legal relationships, and the system of legal sources, with particular emphasis on the principles governing the relationships between sources of law and the methods of legal interpretation. It also examines the scope of public law and the different models of the Constitution.
The course then analyses the constituent elements of the State, the forms of State (absolute, liberal, pluralist and social, theocratic and autocratic, unitary, federal and regional), the forms of government (presidential, semi-presidential and parliamentary, including their main variants).
The course subsequently examines the constitutional organisation of the Italian Republic, focusing on the fundamental principles of the Constitution, the electorate, electoral functions, abrogative referendums, electoral systems and political rights; Parliament (its structure, organisation, functions and the status of Members of Parliament); the Government (its formation, organisation, functions and responsibility); the State's legislative and regulatory powers; the functions of political direction and parliamentary oversight; public administration, independent administrative authorities and auxiliary bodies; the President of the Republic; Regions and local authorities, with particular reference to their statutory, legislative and administrative autonomy and functions, and their relations with the European Union; the judiciary; and the Constitutional Court.
The course is, then, devoted to constitutional rights and duties, with particular reference to personal liberty, the inviolability of the home, freedom of communication, freedom of movement and residence, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of religion and freedom of expression, family rights, the right to education, the protection of health, the rights to work and social security, freedom of private economic initiative, property rights, public duties and the new emerging rights.

As an indication, the course examines: the foundations of a legal order and the principles of legal reasoning; the forms of State; the international law (overall view) and the relationships between the international legal order and domestic legal order; the European integration's process and the European legal order (overall view); the system of the sources of law; the forms of government; the principles of Italian constitutional order; the Italian constitutional history; the fundamental rights; the referendum and the institutions of representative democracy; the Italian Legislative Power; the Italian President of the Republic; the Italian Executive Power; the Italian regional and local system of government; the Italian system of Public Administration; the Italian Judiciary; the Italian judicial review of legislation and Constitutional Court.