law

The program will be concerned with the main aspects of substantive administrative law and comparative administrative law. The program aims at providing theoretical as well as critical knowledge of administrative law, paying attention to the normative development and to the contributions of case law and legal literature. The course is also aimed at outlining an historical and comparative frame of administrative law, focusing on the influence that EU law and global law have on administrative law. At the end of the program, the student who has actively attended the course may be able to apply the knowledge acquired to solve practical problems concerning the relationship between administrative agencies and private persons, including the issues that could be dealt with in judicial litigation. In particular, the following topics will be dealt with. 1. The origins and developments of administrative law: from the 18th to the 21st century. 2. The principles of administrative law. 3. Theory of organization. Legal entities and subjective figures. Organizational relationships. 4. Types of administrative organizations: ministries, agencies, public bodies, public enterprises, independent authorities. 5. General government staff: managers and employees. 6. Public goods and public interest. Common goods. 7. Public services. 8. The administrative action. 9. Subjective legal situations before public administration. 10. Administrative discretion and technical assessments of the administration. 11. Administrative procedure and participation. 12. Administrative simplification. 13. Administrative decisions. 14. Invalidity of administrative decisions. 15. Administrative self-remedies. 16. Administrative agreements. 17. Public contracts and concessions. 18. Civil liability of public administration. 19. Administrative liability. 20. Comparative law and administrative law. 21. Methods and theories of legal comparison. 22. The main national administrative systems: an historical perspective. 23. France. 24. United Kingdom. 25. United States. 26. European and Global administrative law.

In order to be admitted to the program, students must have passed the exam of Istituzioni di Diritto pubblico. In order to better attend the course and to be able to pass the exam is essential a thorough knowledge of the main institutions of public and constitutional law (both from the point of view of institutional organization, both from the point of view of fundamental rights) and civil law (contracts, public and private property and civil responsibility). A basic knowledge of the economic analysis of law (acquired through courses in finance science or political economy) may be useful too.

Suggested books:   A) On italian administrative law:   M. D’Alberti, Lezioni di diritto amministrativo, Torino, Giappichelli, 2023.     B) On european and comparative administrative law:   M. D’Alberti, Diritto amministrativo comparato, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2019. During the course, will be proposed additional teaching materials for each module of the lessons.

Attendance to classes is not mandatory, although strongly recommended. Students attending will be offered the opportunity to present cases and discuss judgments, including through the simulation of trials.

The final exam is oral and will be aimed at verifying the achievement of the educational objectives and the adequate understanding of the main issues of administrative law, in order to achive the minimum grade (18/30). Account will be taken, in assessing the student's achievements and in particular the attainment of the top grade (30/30 cum laude), of the student's capacity for reasoning and critical analysis, expository technique, as well as attendance and active participation in the classroom. Students attending the course will have the opportunity to do an intermediate written test, which will be taken into account in the final test, where it will be required adequate critical ability and analysis of the main issues of administrative law, also moving from the examination of concrete cases.

The lessons are based on a dialectic approach, interactive and dynamic, able to actively involve students. Particular emphasis will be given to the case-law approach, including through the examination of national and supranational judgments. Multimedia materials will also be used.