Course 2019-2020 a.y.

Part I – Public law in a European perspective: an introduction:

• Public law and private law: distinction, not separation.
• Public law “values”: democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights.
• Public functions and powers between the European Union and its Member States.

Part II – Public Law and Public Policies:

• National budgets within the EMU.
• The EU’s new financial instruments.
• Monetary policy.
• Public infrastructures.

Part III - Public law and regulation:

• Public investments in infrastructures.
• Public procurements.
• Public utilities: liberalization and regulation.

• First and foremost, acquire a better understanding of what public authorities do and do not and how they work.
• Be capable to distinguish the pros and cons of various techniques and instruments that can be, and are, used in order to achieve certain collective goals.
• Understand the dynamic of conflict, not only between the various interests at stake but also between different visions of the world, which is endemic in public law.

• One of the main expected outcome of this course is the capacity to analyse a legal document.
• Another one is  an improvement of students’ abilities to critically examine (legal) documents and to explain and discuss their points of view, also within teamwork (e.g. with regard to judicial decisions).
• All this aims at improving critical thinking.

• Face-to-face lectures
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
• Individual assignments

This is a course based on “law in action”. The class surveys approaches to understanding public law, seen in its interaction between public policies, in a range of settings.

• A variety of issues concerning legal principles and rules, as well as their underlying values, thus be considered, on the basis of the readings and materials that are available on the Bboard.
• The course is based on active teaching methodologies that aim at maximizing students’ participation. In addition to theoretical sessions, students are involved in the discussion of case studies, to be analyzed individually or in group.

With the purpose of measuring the acquisition of the above mentioned learning outcomes, the assessment method for all students is an end-of-term written exam consisting of three parts:

1. A short essay which counts for 16 points (Part 1).
2. 10 multiple choice questions which counts for 10 points (Part 2).
3. 5 true or false questions which counts for 5 points (Part 3).

Part 2 and 3 aim at measuring the acquisition of these learning outcomes:

• Understanding of how public authorities work.
• Pros and cons of various techniques and instruments that are used to achieve public policy goals.
• Understanding the dynamic of conflicts that public law and public policies have to deal with.

Part 3 aims at measuring students’ abilities to critically examine (legal) documents and to explain their points of view.

Attending students are given the option of giving an oral presentation on materials (case law, papers) provided by the teachers. Excellent presentations add 2 point (out of 30) to the final mark; good-quality presentations add 1 points; and poor presentations do not alter the final mark.  Non-attending students are not given this option.

• An Handbook is indicated into the Bboard platform before the start of the course.
• Other teaching materials are provided via the Bboard platform.