Course 2026-2027 a.y.

The course focuses on comparative citizenship and migration law, starting with the concepts of “citizenship” and “non-citizenship”. It then covers the EU Asylum System. The main topics of the course are:

• Citizenship and cosmopolitan theories.
• The rules on citizenship and the status of non-citizens in a comparative perspective. 
• The general rules on entry and admissions.
• The right to asylum, political refuge, and subsidiary protection.
• The rights of unauthorized immigrants.
• The EU citizenship.
• The EU Common Asylum System.
• The interplay between the EU, the ECHR and national systems as far as the protection of foreigners is concerned.

• Identify and discuss the theoretical foundation of the rights of foreigners.
• Distinguish migration law from the general theory of human rights in order to frame migration issues within the complexity of ethical, cultural, and legal aspects raised by the mass migration phenomenon.
• Identify the new challenges that may give origin to new forms of mass migration, such as the climate change.
• Contextualize rules concerning migration within the framework of a multilevel legal order.
• Understand the foundations of EU citizenship and the free movement of persons.
• Understand the functioning of the EU Common Asylum System

• Use (national and European) legal materials to identify the legal status of non-citizens.
• Solve conflicts of laws concerning the legal status of non-citizens.
• Identify the instruments for protecting non-citizens’ rights in a multilevel legal order.
• Assess the most appropriate strategies in their respective fields of activity to address the complexity of the issues raised by non-citizens status.

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

The learning experience of this course includes, in addition to face-to-face lectures:

• The discussion case studies progressively articulated to follow the development of the topics.
• Group assignments are proposed to students to stimulate their ability to build legal arguments.
• Moreover, students are encouraged to engage in class discussion, bring their personal understanding of the topics, and share their insights on legal arguments.
• The course also includes guest lectures by practitioners to provide students with an understanding of how norms concerning migrants are concretely applied. 

Final one-hour written exam consisting in answering one open question to be chosen among two (75% of the final grade). The open question provides a more in-depth assessment of students' knowledge and analytical abilities. Through independent research and critical engagement with legal and policy sources, students demonstrate their ability to construct coherent arguments, evaluate competing perspectives, and apply legal concepts to relevant issues in citizenship and migration law. The essay also assesses academic writing and research skills.

Group assignment and presentation in class (20% of the final grade). Group presentations assess students' capacity to apply legal knowledge to specific topics and case studies, communicate complex issues clearly, and work collaboratively with peers. This method evaluates both subject-specific knowledge and transferable skills, including teamwork, oral communication, and the ability to analyse and synthesize legal sources.

Active in class participation (5% of the final grade). Class participation allows students to demonstrate their understanding of key concepts, legal principles, and contemporary debates in citizenship and migration law. It also provides evidence of their ability to engage critically with course materials, contribute to discussions, and articulate informed arguments.

Taken together, these assessment methods ensure that students are evaluated not only on their acquisition of knowledge but also on their ability to apply, communicate, and critically reflect upon that knowledge in both individual and collaborative contexts.

Students sit a written exam, which consists in one open question and 5 multiple-choice questions to be completed in one hour.

The multiple-choice questions assess students' knowledge and understanding of the key concepts, legal principles, institutional frameworks, and terminology covered in the course. They provide an effective means of evaluating students' ability to identify and distinguish between relevant legal rules, doctrines, and policy approaches in the field of citizenship and migration law.

The open-ended question assesses students' ability to apply their knowledge to a specific legal or policy issue, develop a structured and coherent argument, and demonstrate critical understanding of the topics studied. Through this question, students are expected to analyse legal materials, interpret relevant norms and principles, and substantiate their reasoning with appropriate references to course content.

Taken together, the multiple-choice and open-ended components enable the assessment of both factual knowledge and higher-order cognitive skills. They verify students' ability not only to recall and understand key course content but also to analyse, interpret, and critically discuss issues related to citizenship and migration law.

• Slides
• Class notes
• Case-studies discussed in class and uploaded on the Bboard platform.
• Further materials to be indicated in the syllabus each year.

• C. Gans, Citizenship and Nationhood, in Oxford Handbook of Citizenship, Oxford UP, last ed., pp. 108-129 
• Foundations of International Migration Law, Cambridge University Press, last ed., selected chapters as specified in the syllabus.

• Further materials to be indicated in the syllabus each year.