Course 2020-2021 a.y.

Part I – Public law in the European legal area

• 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 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;
• second, 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;
• third, 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.

Attending students are assessed, among other things, on the basis of their presentation of specific issues. This is taken into account in the context of the final grade. 

For non attending students, the assessment is determined in the context of the exam. 

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