L00957 - EUROPEAN CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

courses
ID:
L00957
Duration (hours):
36
CFU:
6
SSD:
ISTITUZIONI DI DIRITTO PUBBLICO
Located in:
PESCARA
Url:
MODERN LANGUAGES FOR MANAGEMENT AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION/CORSO GENERICO Year: 1
MODERN LANGUAGES FOR MANAGEMENT AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION/CORSO GENERICO Year: 2
Year:
2025
Course Catalogue:
https://unich.coursecatalogue.cineca.it/af/2025?co...

Overview

Date/time interval

Secondo Semestre (15/02/2026 - 25/05/2026)

Syllabus

Course Objectives


The training objectives focus on the acquisition of fundamental knowledge relating to the constitutional history of the European integration process, the current organization of power (institutional architecture, normative acts of the Union institutions and the relationship between European law and national law), the current system of principles, objectives and constitutional values ​​and the current system of protection of fundamental rights of the Union, with special attention to the social dimension of the integration process and to the tools that can be used to defend democracy and the rule of law. At the end of the course, the student will have acquired an overall adequate knowledge and critical understanding of the evolution of the integration process, of the principles of constitutional relevance and of the rules on which the form of State and the form of government of the European Union are based, as well as of some of the most important and topical issues in the perspective of the continuation and completion of its process of constitutionalization and federalization. In addition, in line with the general aims of the Degree Course, an appropriate knowledge of the technical vocabulary (political and legal) will be acquired, which is necessary to achieve such understanding and to carry out professional activities in the exercise of which knowledge of the topics included in the programme is required or in any case useful.


Course Prerequisites


None. The fundamental notions of contemporary history and constitutional and public law which may be necessary to understand the contents of the program will be provided and illustrated by the teacher.

Teaching Methods


The teaching method is characterized by lectures (frontal classes) focused on the analysis of relevant legislation and case law. The students’ active participation will be encouraged.

Assessment Methods


Oral final exam

Texts


Main textbook:
Fabrizio Politi, Diritto costituzionale dell'Unione europea, Torino, Giappichelli, 2023 (256 pages: the whole book)

In addition (open access articles, available online):

Giuseppe Morgese, Il "faticoso" percorso della solidarietà nell'Unione europea, in Annali AISDUE, 2021, pp. 85-127;

Filippo Croci, La solidarietà economica e Next Generation EU, in G. Morgese (a cura di), La solidarietà europea: a che punto siamo?, Bari, Università degli studi di Bari Aldo Moro, 2023, pp. 44-59;

Claudia Golino, La dimensione carsica dell'Unione sociale europea alla prova delle crisi del XXI secolo: governance economica, coesione e difesa comune, in Federalismi, n. 17/2025, pp. 53-78;

Pietro Masala, Crisi della democrazia parlamentare e regresso dello Stato sociale: note sul caso italiano nel contesto europeo, in Rivista AIC, n. 4/2016, pp. 1-30;
Pietro Masala, Dinamiche dell'integrazione europea e ruolo del Governo italiano: dalla riforma della governance economica alla solidarietà post-pandemica, in Federalismi, n. 17/2025, pp. 79-111;

Gualtiero Michelini, Crisi della democrazia costituzionale e dello Stato di diritto in Europa: uno sguardo cronologico e uno sguardo sincronico, in Questione giustizia, special issue on Democrazia e rule of law in Europa, May 2024, pp. 30-42;

Martina Coli, Stato di diritto e condizionalità finanziaria: un binomio ormai inscindibile per la tutela dei valori dell’Unione europea?, in Questione giustizia, special issue on Democrazia e rule of law in Europa, May 2024, pp. 43-60.


Contents


The course in European Constitutional Law consists of a first part of a general nature, and a special part.
After an introduction in which the foundations of European constitutionalism and the constituent elements of the "European constitutional heritage" will be identified, the general part will be dedicated to the study of the essential lines of the constitutional history of the integration process; of the institutional structure of the European Union; of the system of sources of Union law and of the relationship between these and the sources of law of the Member States; of the values ​​and fundamental rights recognized by the Union and of the related protection tools.
The special part will examine issues of particular relevance in the perspective of the evolution of the integration process and of its completion as a process of constitutionalization and federalization of the European Union: the social dimension of integration and the difficult path of affirmation and implementation of the principle of solidarity; the relationship between the democratic question and the social question, in light of the crises of the last two decades (financial and pandemic), of the response strategies adopted in the European-supranational context and of their repercussions on the legal systems of the Member States (with particular attention to the Italian case); the instruments provided for in the Union legal system for the safeguarding of democracy and the rule of law.

Course Language


Italian

More information


Office hours: before and after classes, on appointment; also on Microsoft Teams, on appointment (please send an e-mail to: pietro.masala@unich.it ).

Degrees

Degrees (2)

People