The first part of the course will focus on the principles of administrative law and on the role of public authorities in the Italian constitutional framework. In a second part, the features, types and rules of the administrative action will be analysed, according to the several recent legislative reforms which makes the framework instable and uncertain. The course will focus eventually on the issues concerning the invalidity of administrative decisions and on the judicial review.
Students can choose among:
- D. Sorace, Diritto delle pubbliche amministrazioni. Una introduzione,il Mulino, Bologna, 2016;
- M.Clarich, Manuale di diritto amministrativo, il Mulino, Bologna, 2017.
It is suggested to discuss the choice of the reading with the teacher, so to be able to evaluate the best options following the objectives and personal attitude of the student.
Learning Objectives
Knowledge
Students will have to gain knowledges concerning the meanings of the notions of public powers, administration and public authorities in a complex society, and the significance of administrative law in relation to private law and constitutional law. Furthermore, students will have to study the basic regulations concerning the most important functions of Italian public administrations, as resulting from Italian EU membership, and the notions, the principles and the general regulatory schemes relating to the administrative organization, the administrative activity and the jurisdictional protection against administrative bodies, in consideration of the peculiarity of the juridical relations between individuals and public authorities. For this purpose, students will have to get used to the relevant legislation, and in particular to the administrative proceeding general act ("Legge generale sul procedimento amministrativo" – l. n. 241/1990), to the most significant case law, and to the elaborations of scholars.
Skill
A) Students have to acquire the basic tools required, on the one hand, for a study of the general part of the administrative law and from the point of view of the judicial review of administrative action; on the other hand, for the study of the law concerning the various special sectors of public administration.
B) Students have to acquire the capacity to identify the distinctive features of the relationship between individuals and public administrations in comparaison with "ordinary" relationships among individuals.
C) Students have to acquire the cultural and conceptual tools which are necessary to understand public authorities' functioning.
Prerequisites
Students must have passed the exams of Diritto costituzionale generale (Constitutional law – general part) and Diritto private I (Private law I). The knowledge of Italian Constitutional Law and of Italian Private Law is required
Teaching Methods
Lectures and seminars on case law aiming at verifying the learning process by the practical application of principles and laws. Self-evaluation tests will be periodically available through the Moodle Platform.
Further information
Student must subscribe through the Moodle platform by the second week of lesson. No more than 4 justifications will be allowed.
Type of Assessment
The final exams is composed by a written and an oral exam.
The written exam consists
a) in a test composed by 15 close-ended questions: 12 has one correct answers; 3 can have one, more than one, or no correct answer. Starting from 30, each wrong question counts for -2; each non given questions – 1 (max non given answers admitted is 3). The time for the exam is 30 minutes.
b) In a test composed by a two open-ended questions, the first more general, the second requiring a personal elaboration of the topic. The time for answering is 45 min. The answer must not overcome 2 pages A4.
The average of the assessments of the two tests determines the final assessment.
If the final assessment is 21 or lower or if it is 28 or higher, the oral exam is compulsory. For the other cases is optional. The oral exam will include three questions: the first one on a general topic, the second one on a more specific topic, the third one requiring a personal reflection and the skill to emphasize the link between different topics.
The oral exam will be held approximately one week after the written tests.
The consultation of legislation during the written tests is forbidden; it is admitted during the oral exam.
For those attending regularly the course, an intermediate written exam is optionally provided (according the same rules of the final written exam: 15 close-ended questions and 2 open ended questions - same rules for the assessment) , on the first half of the program (which then will not be part of the final exam). The final assessment will be determined as the average of the intermediate exam assessment and those of the final one. The oral exam will include three questions: the first one on a general topic, the second one on a more specific topic, the third one will require personal reflections on one ore more subjects.
Course program
Public administration, policy, law. Administrative law and private law. Rule of Law. Italian law and EU law. The different functions of public authorities and their regime (regulations, adjudication, public utilities, instrumental and auxiliary functions). General notions, principles and problems concerning administrative organisation. Substantive principles pertaining to administrative activities. Administrative proceedings and the conclusion thereof with unilateral measures or consensual acts. Invalidity and irregularity of administrative acts and their consequences. The responsibility/liability of public administrations. Legitimate interests and the system of jurisdictional protection.