Ateneo - UPO

State, people, citizenship; General theory of sources; sources of law in the Italian, international and EU perspective; Consitituional organization; rigts of freedom and constitutional duties; organizzazione costituzionale; the "economic Constituition in the context of the relations between State and market.

M. Cavino, L. Conte, Istituzioni di diritto pubblico, Maggioli, 2026 (in press), ISBN 978-88-916-8383-0
L. Conte, Diritto costituzionale del paesaggio, Giappichelli, Torino, 2026 (in press), ISBN 9791221121476

The educational curriculum of the Master's Degree in Law (LMG) aims to provide students with the preparation, methodologies, and cultural and scientific competencies necessary to achieve a high level of legal knowledge across its various branches and related economic disciplines. Achieving this outcome requires acquiring cross-disciplinary skills spanning legal and economic fields, developing critical and evaluative thinking to apply knowledge to concrete situations, and mastering effective written and oral communication to formulate and apply original ideas in professional and scientific research settings. This structure aligns with the objective of training legal professionals who, upon completion of their degree, are also qualified to operate effectively within the business sector.
The learning objectives of the Constitutional Law course—focused on an in-depth examination of the fundamental elements of Italian constitutional law—fall within the specific learning objectives of the Master's Degree in Law (LMG), which include:
The acquisition of foundational Italian, European, and international legal culture, including through case-study techniques and methodologies, regarding topics essential to understanding and evaluating the principles and institutions of positive law, with a particular focus on economic implications;
In-depth study of legal-historical and philosophical knowledge, enabling positive law institutions to be examined from evolutionary and comparative perspectives;
The acquisition of skills in legal interpretation, case law analysis, legal qualification, comprehension, representation, evaluation, and critical awareness to address legal interpretation and application issues, even when intersecting or overlapping with economic concerns;
Knowledge of legislative drafting techniques and lawmaking processes.

Good knowledge of the history of Italy, particularly regarding the transitional phase 1945-1947.

Face-to face lessons (DE); at the professor's discretion, a limited number of classes may be delivered via asynchronous distance learning (TEL-DE), within the limits established by the University regulations.
The course consists of contact hours. The contact hours will be conducted traditionally, based on an explanation of the topics that are part of the syllabus. However, class participation will be encouraged so that the topics examined can be discussed more thoroughly and from several viewpoints.
Please note that some lessons may be held online, subject to prior notification to students.
Seminars will be organized during the course to explore specific topics and to host critical student presentations on case studies relevant to the program. Students are invited to attend conferences on the subject, should they be organized by the department or the University, and their participation with brief interventions is highly encouraged, conditions permitting.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the University Staff "Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti", consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/servicesstudents-physical-or-learning-disabilities. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities.

Oral examination. The oral examination has the dual purpose of verifying the level of knowledge and understanding of the course content and of evaluating one's own judgment, learning ability, and communication skills.
The exam is conducted orally and aims both to verify knowledge and understanding of the course content and to evaluate independent judgment, learning capacity, and the ability to re-elaborate course material. The student will be asked questions covering the following macro-areas: sources of law; constitutional organization; rights and freedoms; constitutional justice.
The exam is considered passed if the student achieves at least a passing grade in each thematic macro-area. Evaluation criteria are defined as follows:

Passing: Demonstrates understanding of the basic elements of the legal institution in question.

Fair to Good: Demonstrates understanding of basic elements as well as further implications, potentially prompted by follow-up questions.

Very Good: Identifies basic elements and broader implications with appropriate legal terminology and a solid depth of analysis.

Excellent: Demonstrates independence, strong reasoning ability, and the capacity to make insightful connections across the various legal institutions covered in the exam.

At the end of the exam, the instructor will inform the student of their overall grade, which synthesizes the assessments of the individual questions.

CONSTITUTIONAL ORGANIZATION 1. The concept of State and the historical evolution of the forms of State. 2. Forms of State regarding the territorial organization. 3. The forms of governement. The Italian form of government. 4. The citizenship and the people. Right to vote and electoral systems. 5. The Parliament. Structure and status of the members of Parliament. 6. The Parliament. Functions. The State budget. 7. The Head of the State. 8. The Government. Process of formation and structure. 9. The Government. Political guidance, relations with Parliement and with the President of the Republic. 10. Jurisdiction and magistrature. Due process. 11. The regional State of the autonomies. Bodies of the regions and the regional form of government. 12. The local autonomies system. 13. EU integration process. EU governing bodies. 14. The ascending phase. SOURCES OF LAW 15. Sources of law system. 16. Gaps and analogies. Resolution crieria. 17. Constitutional sources. Law. 18. The Govenment's legal force. 19. Abrogative referendum. 20. Regional Law 21. Collective labour agreement. 22. Regulatory power. Ordinance power. 23. EU sources of law. 24. Constituitional theory of liberty. Rights and duties. 25. The negative liberties. Art. 13 – 17. 26. The negative liberties. Art. 18 – 21. 27. The positive liberties. Education, health. CONSTITUTIONAL JUSTICE 28. The concept of constitutional justice (also in the comparative perspective). The Italian Constitutional Court. 29. The incidental control of constitutionality. 30. The “in via principale” judgement. 31. The judgement between branches of State 32. The judgement of admissibility of the referendum. The judgement on the responsibility of the President of the Republic.
GENDER MAINSTREAMING In the discussion of the programme, particular attention is dedicated to gender mainstreaming. Reflection works in a transversal way: gender mainstreaming will be taken into consideration with regards to equality principle (formal and supportive); political participation rights; choices concerning the body; equality, merit and well-being in the field of employment, education and pay.
The course includes seminars providing an in-depth exploration of Law and Literature.

The primary learning outcome is the attainment of a solid knowledge of Italian constitutional law.

Given that interdisciplinarity is a defining feature of the Degree in Law for Economics and Business, analysis in the field of public and constitutional law will be conducted with a constant focus on areas where legal evaluation skills, combined with economic analysis, are essential. Consequently, students will acquire theoretical and methodological competencies regarding:
Issues concerning the relationship between information technology and law;
Analysis of privacy protection matters;
Understanding the dynamics governing the use of information technology in public administration and society;
Knowledge of the rationales, instruments, and effects of public intervention in the economy;
Competencies related to business-economic implications and the mechanisms of interaction between firms and markets;
Analysis of regulatory interventions in economic matters, as well as in healthcare, environmental policy, regulatory economics, and competition.
Students will gain a foundational historical-legal background to understand the evolution of constitutional and public law institutions within their historical and value contexts. They will refine their ability to analyze positive law and interpret and apply legal norms through a study methodology suited to the critical examination of interpretative issues across major legal domains.
Furthermore, students will learn to understand systematic interconnections and practical ramifications within current case law and academic debate, critically examine arguments supporting different interpretative positions, comparatively evaluate their logical consistency and persuasive force, formulate tailored solutions for concrete cases, and present legal issues, solutions, and underlying arguments in legally appropriate terms.