Course 2026-2027 a.y.

• The origins of constitutional justice.
• The models of constitutional justice
• Constitutional review as an essential component of constitutional democracy
• Democratic backsliding and constitutional courts
• The Italian Constitutional Court. Origins, sources and organization.
• Access to Constitutional Courts
• The incidental method of judicial review, individual complaints and the direct method of judicial review.
• Amici curiae
• Forms and methods of constitutional interpretation.
• Constitutional reasoning and the principle of proportionality
• Separate opinions in constitutional and supreme courts.
• The types and effects of constitutional courts’ decisions.
• Constitutional Court and the domain of politics.
• The Courts and the media
• Constitutional adjudication in Europe.

• Understand the role of Constitutional Courts in contemparary democracies
• Compare the models of constitutional justice in Europe.
• Describe and understand the composition of Constitutional Courts .
• Describe and understand Constitutional Courts decision making process
• Decribe and understand Constitutional Courts legal reasoning.
• Explain the relationship and the interplay between domestic constitutional courts and supranational courts.
• Understand and discuss the case law of supreme, constitutional and supranational courts on some selected topics.

• Critically analyse the case law of supreme, constitutional and supranational courts.
• Interpret the contemporary scenario through the lenses of constitutional adjudication
• Elaborate solutions to legal issues arising from practical situations and evaluate their pros and cons.
• Carry out autonomous research on a given topic.
• Engage in a discussion on a constitutional topic with both instructors and peers.
• Develop a constitutional argument in a judicial context. 

• Lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Company visits
• Collaborative Works / Assignments
• Interaction/Gamification

Along with face-to-face/online lectures, supported by the use of slides and interactive presentations, students are invited to attend guest speakers’ talks (in class or in distance), held by prominent experts (professors, judges etc.).

Students are also called to actively participate in class activities (class seminars).

Student will be requested to discuss  real cases pending before a constitutional court, to argue the different position and provide reasons for the proposed solution. The case will then be submitted to AI and the students will discuss the decision and the reasoning provided by AI.

Class seminars consist of interactive sessions in which students are asked to analyse and discuss legal issues arising from topics of current interest, in which constitutional, supreme or supranational courts play a role.

Moreover, an external visit to the Constitutional Court is organized (provided that enough students are interested in taking part in the visit), based on the availability of the Court. During their visit to the Constitutional Court, students can attend a public hearing of the Court and meet a Constitutional judge.

Attending students will be evaluated based on a written exam and an oral exam

The written exam makes up 20 out of 30 points and can be divided in two parts: one as an intermediate exam and a final exam. 

The oral exam makes up 10 out of 30 points and will be taken at the end of the course.

A total of up to two additional points can be granted to students to award the quality of their in class partecipation. 

The final mark is determined by the evaluation of the written individual exam consisting of open questions and multiple choice questions.

The teaching materials will be indicated in the syllabus at the beginning of the course. Most of the papers will be available in open access or at the Bocconi library.

A reading list for non attenging students will be indicated in the syllabus at the beginning of the course. Most of the papers will be available in open access or at the Bocconi library.