Sergio Dellavalle, Riccardo Perona
Principles of Constitutional Law AA 2020/2021
The course unit on Principles of Constitutional Law is made up of two distinct Modules, the first taught by Professor Sergio Dellavalle, the second by Professor Riccardo Perona. Module I covers the initial one third of the course unit, which addresses more general topics of constitutional law in transnational perspective, while the rest is covered by Module II, which is dedicated to more specific issues.
Exams are held separately for the two Modules, while the final grade is fixed as the average of the partial grades that students have received for each Module.
Module I (Sergio Dellavalle)
I. Overview
The contents of the concept of constitution.
The Western constitutional tradition: autocracy vs. democracy.
The division of powers as the first means for the limitation and control of public power.
The main forms of government: parliamentary system, presidential system, and semi-presidential system.
Federalism (and regionalism) as the second means for the limitation and control of public power.
The taxonomy of fundamental rights: civil, political and social rights; individual and collective rights; first, second and third generation rights. The rights of non-human beings.
Electoral systems: plurality system; majoritarian system; proportional system.
The nation as the community of citizens vs. the nation as expression of ethnicity.
Systems of constitutional adjudication; competences of constitutional courts.
Non-Western constitutional traditions: East-Asian constitutions; Islamic constitutions; one-party constitutions.
Postnational constitutionalism: supranational organizations; global governance; cosmopolitan constitutionalism; global economic constitutions.
II. Aims
Module I of the course unit provides a basic understanding of the foundations of constitutional law in national, comparative, supranational and international perspective. The course unit starts with the presentation of the concept of constitution in the Western legal, political and philosophical tradition. In doing so, it addresses its main features, like division of powers, forms of government, federalism, fundamental rights, electoral systems, and constitutional adjudication. In a second step it expands the analysis to non-Western constitutional patterns, such as Islamic constitutions and one-party constitutions. Thereby, it explores particularities, main elements and conflicts that might arise in constitutional law from a comparative perspective. Finally, it focuses on the most advanced frontier of constitutional law, namely on the development of constitutionalism beyond the borders of the nation state. In particular, it concentrates on the question as to whether the establishment of new continental or even global forms of legal and institutional integration is destined to change the traditional concept of constitution.
III. Learning Outcomes
After attending this course unit, the students are expected:
- to have a good knowledge of the main contents of constitutional legal documents, as well as of their characterizing features, such as the form of government, the establishment of the protection of fundamental rights, the electoral system, the definition of the identity of the political community, and the structure of constitutional adjudication;
- to be able to compare constitutional texts on the basis of the above-mentioned features;
- to have developed a keen awareness of the existence of different constitutional traditions and of their most specific characteristics;
- to have a sufficient understanding of the most advanced frontiers of constitutionalism within the post-national constellation.
IV. Employability Skills
Upon completion of the course unit the students are expected to have
- improved their critical thinking;
- developed better analytical skills;
- developed a stronger interest in research and critical analysis.
V. Assessment Methods
The assessment as regards Module I is based on a written exam with open-ended questions on the topics addressed in the same Module. It counts for 50 % of the final grade. The exam will consist of four open questions on the contents of Module I. The length of the answers, taken together, should not exceed 1,600 words. All texts that go beyond that size will not be taken into account. The answers should not be a “copy and paste” of the related parts of the file containing the arguments of Module I. More specifically, the answers should express enough authorial competence and originality. Every form of plagiarism that exceeds 20 % of the submitted text will result in a fail.
The exams will take place at the official dates that can be found on Unito.it. In addition, an extraordinary exam session is scheduled on the 06/11/2020. To sign up for the extraordinary exam session, the students have to go to the website of the course unit and register under “Appelli”. For the official exam dates, on the contrary, the students have to use the usual procedure through Unito.it.
Due to the restrictions, it is likely that all exam will have the form of take-home exams. In any case, the additional session on the 06/11/2020 will be held as a take-home exam. The take-home exam(s) will be organized as following. At 9:00 am (Turin time = GMT + 1, or GMT + 2 during summer time) on the exam date all students who have signed up for the exam on the website of the course unit (or on the website of the exams of Unito.it) will receive an email with the questions. The questions will also be uploaded under “Avvisi” (Announcements). There is then time until 9:00 pm (Turin time = GMT + 1, or GMT + 2 during summer time) of the same day to send back the text with the answers. The text must be sent in Word format and as an attachment to an email (sergio.dellavalle@unito.it). All text sent later than at the above-mentioned time or in a format different than Word will not be taken into account.
VI. Teaching Methods
Due to the situation that has been determined through the Covid-19 pandemic and in order to make it easier for all students to be properly involved, the course unit will be delivered in a mixed form, comprising the following components:
a) a PDF file, entitled “Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I”, with the contents of Module I, to be downloaded either from Campusnet (website of the course unit, Materiale didattico, AA non specificato) or from Moodle;
b) a Powerpoint presentation, entitled “Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I – Slides”, including slides with the main contents of Module I, to be downloaded either from Campusnet (website of the course unit, Materiale didattico, AA non specificato) or from Moodle;
c) nine Powerpoint presentation with audio, entitled “Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part I to IX - Slides + Audio”, including the contents of Module I, to be downloaded either from Campusnet (website of the course unit, Materiale didattico, AA non specificato) or from Moodle;
d) a blog on Moodle where students can share their questions and remarks with their peers and with the teacher;
e) meetings in presence or on Webex, during which open questions as regards the contents of the course unit can be discussed; the decision on whether to hold the meetings in presence (with Webex connection for those who cannot be present) or on Webex alone (for all students who want to participate) will be taken – due to the hardship related to the Covid-19 pandemic – shortly before the dates of the meetings and will be communicated to the students via email as well as through an announcement (Avviso) on Campusnet and on Moodle.
The students are expected to read and study carefully the materials listed above (from a) to c). If questions emerge, these can be presented in the blog or during the meetings. Already answered questions will not be considered; therefore, before laying the questions down, students should read carefully what has already been discussed. So far, two meetings have been scheduled (see: VIII. Schedule). Insofar as the meetings will be held in presence, the students can participate after booking a place according to the rules laid down by the university. Anyway, they will have also the possibility to participate from home through Webex (by joining the meeting through the link: https://unito.webex.com/meet/sergio.dellavalle) or to hear the recordings of the meetings that will be uploaded on Moodle. In case that the meetings will be held on Webex alone, the recordings will also be made available on Moodle.
VII. Teaching material
All teaching materials listed under “VI. Teaching Methods” can be downloaded either from Campusnet (website of the course unit, Materiale didattico, AA non specificato) or from Moodle.
VIII. Schedule
Class 1 01/10/2020 Introduction. The contents of the concept of constitution; the Western constitutional tradition. The principle of the division of powers and the forms of government (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part I - Slides + Audio).
The parliamentary system, the presidential system, and the semi-presidential system (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part II - Slides + Audio).
Class 2 02/10/2020 Federalism and regionalism (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part III - Slides + Audio).
The taxonomy of fundamental rights: civil, political and social rights; individual and collective rights; first, second and third generation rights. The rights of non-human beings (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part IV - Slides + Audio).
Class 3 08/10/2020 Electoral systems: plurality system; majoritarian system; proportional system (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part V - Slides + Audio).
The nation as the community of citizens vs. the nation as expression of ethnicity. Systems of constitutional adjudication; competences of constitutional courts (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part VI - Slides + Audio).
Non-Western constitutional traditions: East-Asian constitutions; Islamic constitutions; One-party constitutions (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part VII - Slides + Audio).
Class 4 09/10/2020 Postnational constitutionalism I: supranational legal and institutional integration, with particular reference to the European Union (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part VIII - Slides + Audio).
Postnational constitutionalism II: global governance; cosmopolitan constitutionalism; global economic constitutions (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part IX - Slides + Audio).
Class 5 15/10/2020
13:00 – 16:00 Meeting, Aula 2 Einaudi (or on Webex; communication will be given shortly before the meeting)
https://unito.webex.com/meet/sergio.dellavalle
Class 6 29/10/2020
13:00 – 16:00 Meeting, Aula 2 Einaudi (or on Webex; communication will be given shortly before the meeting)
https://unito.webex.com/meet/sergio.dellavalle
Class 7 06/11/2020 Take-home exam
Principles of Constitutional Law AA 2020/2021
The course unit on Principles of Constitutional Law is made up of two distinct Modules, the first taught by Professor Sergio Dellavalle, the second by Professor Riccardo Perona. Module I covers the initial one third of the course unit, which addresses more general topics of constitutional law in transnational perspective, while the rest is covered by Module II, which is dedicated to more specific issues.
Exams are held separately for the two Modules, while the final grade is fixed as the average of the partial grades that students have received for each Module.
Module I (Sergio Dellavalle)
I. Overview
The contents of the concept of constitution.
The Western constitutional tradition: autocracy vs. democracy.
The division of powers as the first means for the limitation and control of public power.
The main forms of government: parliamentary system, presidential system, and semi-presidential system.
Federalism (and regionalism) as the second means for the limitation and control of public power.
The taxonomy of fundamental rights: civil, political and social rights; individual and collective rights; first, second and third generation rights. The rights of non-human beings.
Electoral systems: plurality system; majoritarian system; proportional system.
The nation as the community of citizens vs. the nation as expression of ethnicity.
Systems of constitutional adjudication; competences of constitutional courts.
Non-Western constitutional traditions: East-Asian constitutions; Islamic constitutions; one-party constitutions.
Postnational constitutionalism: supranational organizations; global governance; cosmopolitan constitutionalism; global economic constitutions.
II. Aims
Module I of the course unit provides a basic understanding of the foundations of constitutional law in national, comparative, supranational and international perspective. The course unit starts with the presentation of the concept of constitution in the Western legal, political and philosophical tradition. In doing so, it addresses its main features, like division of powers, forms of government, federalism, fundamental rights, electoral systems, and constitutional adjudication. In a second step it expands the analysis to non-Western constitutional patterns, such as Islamic constitutions and one-party constitutions. Thereby, it explores particularities, main elements and conflicts that might arise in constitutional law from a comparative perspective. Finally, it focuses on the most advanced frontier of constitutional law, namely on the development of constitutionalism beyond the borders of the nation state. In particular, it concentrates on the question as to whether the establishment of new continental or even global forms of legal and institutional integration is destined to change the traditional concept of constitution.
III. Learning Outcomes
After attending this course unit, the students are expected:
- to have a good knowledge of the main contents of constitutional legal documents, as well as of their characterizing features, such as the form of government, the establishment of the protection of fundamental rights, the electoral system, the definition of the identity of the political community, and the structure of constitutional adjudication;
- to be able to compare constitutional texts on the basis of the above-mentioned features;
- to have developed a keen awareness of the existence of different constitutional traditions and of their most specific characteristics;
- to have a sufficient understanding of the most advanced frontiers of constitutionalism within the post-national constellation.
IV. Employability Skills
Upon completion of the course unit the students are expected to have
- improved their critical thinking;
- developed better analytical skills;
- developed a stronger interest in research and critical analysis.
V. Assessment Methods
The assessment as regards Module I is based on a written exam with open-ended questions on the topics addressed in the same Module. It counts for 50 % of the final grade. The exam will consist of four open questions on the contents of Module I. The length of the answers, taken together, should not exceed 1,600 words. All texts that go beyond that size will not be taken into account. The answers should not be a “copy and paste” of the related parts of the file containing the arguments of Module I. More specifically, the answers should express enough authorial competence and originality. Every form of plagiarism that exceeds 20 % of the submitted text will result in a fail.
The exams will take place at the official dates that can be found on Unito.it. In addition, an extraordinary exam session is scheduled on the 06/11/2020. To sign up for the extraordinary exam session, the students have to go to the website of the course unit and register under “Appelli”. For the official exam dates, on the contrary, the students have to use the usual procedure through Unito.it.
Due to the restrictions, it is likely that all exam will have the form of take-home exams. In any case, the additional session on the 06/11/2020 will be held as a take-home exam. The take-home exam(s) will be organized as following. At 9:00 am (Turin time = GMT + 1, or GMT + 2 during summer time) on the exam date all students who have signed up for the exam on the website of the course unit (or on the website of the exams of Unito.it) will receive an email with the questions. The questions will also be uploaded under “Avvisi” (Announcements). There is then time until 9:00 pm (Turin time = GMT + 1, or GMT + 2 during summer time) of the same day to send back the text with the answers. The text must be sent in Word format and as an attachment to an email (sergio.dellavalle@unito.it). All text sent later than at the above-mentioned time or in a format different than Word will not be taken into account.
VI. Teaching Methods
Due to the situation that has been determined through the Covid-19 pandemic and in order to make it easier for all students to be properly involved, the course unit will be delivered in a mixed form, comprising the following components:
a) a PDF file, entitled “Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I”, with the contents of Module I, to be downloaded either from Campusnet (website of the course unit, Materiale didattico, AA non specificato) or from Moodle;
b) a Powerpoint presentation, entitled “Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I – Slides”, including slides with the main contents of Module I, to be downloaded either from Campusnet (website of the course unit, Materiale didattico, AA non specificato) or from Moodle;
c) nine Powerpoint presentation with audio, entitled “Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part I to IX - Slides + Audio”, including the contents of Module I, to be downloaded either from Campusnet (website of the course unit, Materiale didattico, AA non specificato) or from Moodle;
d) a blog on Moodle where students can share their questions and remarks with their peers and with the teacher;
e) meetings in presence or on Webex, during which open questions as regards the contents of the course unit can be discussed; the decision on whether to hold the meetings in presence (with Webex connection for those who cannot be present) or on Webex alone (for all students who want to participate) will be taken – due to the hardship related to the Covid-19 pandemic – shortly before the dates of the meetings and will be communicated to the students via email as well as through an announcement (Avviso) on Campusnet and on Moodle.
The students are expected to read and study carefully the materials listed above (from a) to c). If questions emerge, these can be presented in the blog or during the meetings. Already answered questions will not be considered; therefore, before laying the questions down, students should read carefully what has already been discussed. So far, two meetings have been scheduled (see: VIII. Schedule). Insofar as the meetings will be held in presence, the students can participate after booking a place according to the rules laid down by the university. Anyway, they will have also the possibility to participate from home through Webex (by joining the meeting through the link: https://unito.webex.com/meet/sergio.dellavalle) or to hear the recordings of the meetings that will be uploaded on Moodle. In case that the meetings will be held on Webex alone, the recordings will also be made available on Moodle.
VII. Teaching material
All teaching materials listed under “VI. Teaching Methods” can be downloaded either from Campusnet (website of the course unit, Materiale didattico, AA non specificato) or from Moodle.
VIII. Schedule
Class 1 01/10/2020 Introduction. The contents of the concept of constitution; the Western constitutional tradition. The principle of the division of powers and the forms of government (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part I - Slides + Audio).
The parliamentary system, the presidential system, and the semi-presidential system (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part II - Slides + Audio).
Class 2 02/10/2020 Federalism and regionalism (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part III - Slides + Audio).
The taxonomy of fundamental rights: civil, political and social rights; individual and collective rights; first, second and third generation rights. The rights of non-human beings (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part IV - Slides + Audio).
Class 3 08/10/2020 Electoral systems: plurality system; majoritarian system; proportional system (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part V - Slides + Audio).
The nation as the community of citizens vs. the nation as expression of ethnicity. Systems of constitutional adjudication; competences of constitutional courts (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part VI - Slides + Audio).
Non-Western constitutional traditions: East-Asian constitutions; Islamic constitutions; One-party constitutions (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part VII - Slides + Audio).
Class 4 09/10/2020 Postnational constitutionalism I: supranational legal and institutional integration, with particular reference to the European Union (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part VIII - Slides + Audio).
Postnational constitutionalism II: global governance; cosmopolitan constitutionalism; global economic constitutions (Dellavalle - Principles of Constitutional Law - Module I - Part IX - Slides + Audio).
Class 5 15/10/2020
13:00 – 16:00 Meeting, Aula 2 Einaudi (or on Webex; communication will be given shortly before the meeting)
https://unito.webex.com/meet/sergio.dellavalle
Class 6 29/10/2020
13:00 – 16:00 Meeting, Aula 2 Einaudi (or on Webex; communication will be given shortly before the meeting)
https://unito.webex.com/meet/sergio.dellavalle
Class 7 06/11/2020 Take-home exam
- Teacher: Sergio Dellavalle
- Teacher: Alessia Fusco
- Teacher: Riccardo Perona