0055027 - ECCLESIASTICAL LAW

Italian

General part:
Historical genesis of the discipline and its relevance today. Models of church-state relations. Constitutional provisions and court opinions. Supranational provisions. Covenants and the law on 'admitted cults'.
Advanced part:
Ecclesiastical bodies. Financing of religion. Marriage. Religious teaching in public schools. Religious buildings. Criminal law protection of religious persuasions. Labour law and religion. Religious symbols. Multiculturalism and interculturalism. Bio-law.

Those students who will attend classes may prepare the exam on the lecture notes and on the material that will be uploaded on the Moodle platform, complementing such study with one of the following manuals, according to their own preference, provided the latest edition is consulted:
Those students who will not attend classes may prepare the exam on one of the following manuals, according to their own preference:
P. Consorti, Diritto e religione. Basi e prospettive, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2020
and
A. Ferrari, La libertà religiosa in Italia. Un percorso incompiuto, Roma, Carocci, 2013
or
I. Zuanazzi - M.C. Ruscazio - M. Ciravegna, La convivenza delle religioni negli ordinamenti giuridici dei Paesi europei, Giappichelli, 2022.
and
A. Ferrari, La libertà religiosa in Italia. Un percorso incompiuto, Roma, Carocci, 2013
With the aim of attaining a deeper understanding of the subject and an adequate preparation for the exam, it is recommended to complement the manuals with the direct reading of the legal provisions that are cited by the texts and by reading the most important judicial opinions, in particular those by the Italian Constitutional Court.

The teaching is aimed at providing the student with a complete knowledge of the Italian law on the phenomenon of the exercise of the freedom of conscience, freedom and religion, as well as with the ability to recognise, understand and interpret the various sources and precedents, both national and European, regulating the religious phenomenon and the relation betweeen the state and religious organisations. In particular the student will be able to: gain familiarity with the specific methodological questions and the complex typology of the sources of ecclesiastical law, starting from the constitutional level; gain an increased sensibility towards legislative and interpretative specificities concerning the religious phenomenon, which became more complex in recent times as a consequence of migrations and the multicultural character that our society is assuming in an increasing way, in order to find adequate responses to guarantee freedom, equality and a fair treatment of the existing cultural and confessional differences; understanding and evaluating the principles and the institutions of ecclesiastial law; develop the ability to dynamically apprehend the importance of legal disputes in the relevant socio-cultural context, with a particular focus on the autonomy of the individual and the religious associations; draft, understand and analyse legal material; analyse judicial decisions; representing in a critical way as well as adequately qualify the juridical facts and the problems that arise from them.

In addition to the respect of the exam order provided by the university's regulations it is advisable - considering the cross-sectional nature of the subject and in view of the fact that during the course many problems related to several juridical disciplines (from constitutional law to administrative law, from private law to labour law, from criminal law to the relationship between different legal systems) will be dealt with - to approach the study of the subject after having passed the 'core curriculum' exams of the degree course.

The course will be taught through the traditional frontal-lecture format, with the indication of the legislative and jurisdictional sources that are deemed fundamental in order to grasp the subjects that will be addressed in each class.

Those students who wish to attend classes have to sign up through the Moodle platform no later than the first week of classes.
Class attendance will be checked through random calls during classes, or through the signing of a presence sheet.

The exams will be oral: the student will be examined on three topics of the syllabus. If it is necessary to deepen the verification of the preparation because of the result of the exam further questions may be asked. The studend has to show the ability to organise his speech and to reason critically, with a particular focus on the use of the specialised jargon in order to achieve a quality of expression showing the full mastery of the topics explained, as well as the ability to link the various topics of the syllabus. The evaluation will be optimal when all three topics will be treated with answers which are complete in their reference to the applicable law and jurisprudence. Purely descriptive answers, however complete but deprived of critical analysis or references to the relevant jurisprudence may determine a final score which is sufficient to pass, but hardly superior to 24/30. In the event of serious faults concerning fundamental elements of the syllabus even a wrong answer on a single topic may prevent the student from passing the exam.

Defining the boundaries of the subject and its historical development. History of religious liberty and church-state relations. The uniqueness of the Italian case. The sources of church-state law. The decision n. 203 of 1989 of the Constitutional Court. Articles 2, 3 and 19 of the Constitution. The decision n. 117 of 1979 and n. 334 of 1996 of the Constitutional Court. Article 9 of the ECHR. Article 10 of the Nice declaration of rights. Art. 17 of the TFEU. Article 20 of the Constitution. The law on 'admitted cults'. The legislative proposals on religious freedom. Article 7 of the Constitution. The decision n. 18 of 1982 of the Constitutional Court. The Treaty and the Concordat. Article 8 of the Constitution. The definition of religious confession. The self-regulation freedom. The process to obtain a covenant. The decision n. 52 of 2016 of the Constitutional Court. The laws based on covenants with religions different from Roman Catholicism. Religious buildings. The decision n. 63 of 2016 of the Constitutional Court. The 'offence to religion' crimes. The decisions n. 329 of 1997 and n. 508 of 2000 of the Constitutional Court. The decision of the third criminal chamber of the Italian Court of Cassation n. 51055 of 2015. The problems of the multi-cultural society and the inter-cultural answer. Labour law and religion. The religiously- or philosophically-characterised organisations. The decision n. 5832 of 1994 of the Court of Cassation. The decision n. 195 of 1972 of the Constitutional Court. The decision by the ECtHR Lombardi Vallauri vs Italy. The religious ministers. The ecclesiastical bodies. The financing. The tax breaks. The opinions of the Italian Court of Accounts on the '8 on 1000'. The concordat marriage. The marriage celebrated by religious ministers belonging to religious entities having signed a covenant with the state. The marriage according to the law on 'admitted cults'. Relations between the religious jurisdiction on marriage and the state legal system. The ECtHR decision Pellegrini vs Italy. The question of the homosexual marriage. The decision n. 138 of 2010 of the Constitutional Court - the law on civil partnerships. The judicial cases on religious teching in public schools. The judicial cases on the showing of the crucifix. The judicial cases on pastoral visits and Easter blessings. Religious symbols and public spaces: crucifix, kirpan, Islamic veils. Bio-law questions: the beginning of life, the end of life, conscentious objection.