Legal Studies

This is an independent research course with research arranged between the student and faculty member. The specific research topics vary each term and are described on a special project form for each student. A substantial paper is required. The number of units varies with the student’s project, contact hours, and method of assessment, as defined on the student’s special study project form.

This course examines a range of legal skills that are crucial for successful legal studies and for professional practice. Students learn the essential skills that enable them to engage with and use our principal sources of law - case law and legislation. In addition to teaching students how to analyze case law and legislation and to formulate legal arguments, the course also covers the key legal principles of statutory interpretation and the role of the courts in interpreting statutes.

This course delves into the intricate domains of urban planning and environmental management, offering a multifaceted exploration of critical topics essential for sustainable development and effective governance. It examines public goods, infrastructure development, urban planning, and environmental conservation from a legal framework.

This course offers an introduction to animal law. It discusses the historical and philosophical change from viewing animals as mere property to that of property and subject of protection simultaneously and how that has evolved and is regulated in domestic and international legal systems. This course also examines existing anti-cruelty legislation, responsible pet ownership, animals as family members, animal experimentation, animal breeding and slaughter for consumption, wildlife protection, and hunting and fishing regulation. 

This course provides an overview of the Civil Code, the basic law of civil society. Specifically, the course examines the basic system of civil law, basic principles, laws regarding contracts, ownership, family,  inheritance, etc. 

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. This course develops critical knowledge of the fundamental institutes of Food Law with particular attention to the new profiles that the discipline presents and to European and international regulations of specific relevance. The approach to the subject is interdisciplinary, not only theoretical but also practical-operational, enabling students to acquire mastery and awareness in the use of legislative, jurisprudential, and contractual practice tools. The course content includes: principles and rules of European and global food law; right to food; food security; food safety; food sovereignty; global food law trends; European food law rules; food sustainability; food law and antitrust rules; and contract farming. At the end of the module, the course covers the regulation of national, European, and international agrifood markets, with particular emphasis placed on agrifood security, producer responsibility, and competition policies; and how to handle different sources of agrifood law, how to be familiar with bodies issuing specific regulation in the sector, and how to contribute to organizational policies to this regard.

The course focuses on the principal elements of EU constitutional law, namely: sources of EU law, EU competences, institutions, law-making procedures, judicial procedures, implementation of EU law in the Member States, and the essential aspects of the main EU policies. The course helps develop the ability to analyze the main implications of the EU institutional structure and to determine the overall effects of the law into the municipal legal orders of the Member States; and to illustrate the main trends of the interplay between the Union and its Member States (both internally and on the international scene).

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The course offers an overview of the structure and main features of EU financial regulation, along with an in-depth examination of some of its main pillars. Topics covered by the course are the regulation of securities offerings, investment firms and investment services, investment funds, and securities markets. At the end of the course unit, students will possess an in-depth knowledge about the legal regime applicable to financial operators and relevant swap transactions, against the background of the applicable international and supranational legal instruments; they are thus able to understand financial operators’ behavior in a given political and economic context, and to envisage its impact on the regulatory framework concerning the functioning of financial markets.

This course examines human rights, their connection to the concept of citizenship, how and when they originated, and who their bearers are.

This course explores the main international and European legal mechanisms in place to protect from different forms of discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, disability, or race. It focuses on the principles of equality and non-discrimination,  and introduces the subject through the evolution of women’s rights and its international recognition. Activities include discussion of case studies and in-class debates.