History of Modern and Contemporary Law (2016/2017)

Learning outcomes

The course analyses the evolution of criminal law and procedure in Italy and in Europe between Middle and Modern Ages, starting from the development of criminal science between XV and XVI century. The course will examine the application of modern criminal law foundations to trial procedure and then will analyse the formation of inquisitorial proceedings, that will prevail over the accusatory one, without causing its complete disappearance. It will be thus possible to follow the difficult emergence of the basic principles of contemporary legal conscience in time, such as the protection of personal freedom, the limits of sovereignty, the difficulty in discovering the truth in trial, the complex penalty function. The historical development of state punitive power will be followed, improving the value of the elements of comparison among the different European experiences.

PART I - THE CRIMINAL TRIAL BETWEEN IUS COMMUNE AND MODERN AGE
The first part of the course aims to analyse the salient characteristics of the criminal trial as appeared in the late Middle Ages and in the Modern Age, by focusing on the widespread success of inquisitorial system and its distinctive elements (Judge's powers, legal position of the accused, evidence), trying to identify some highlights of the change (XVI century, Age of Enlightenment and the French Revolution, etc.).
PART II - CRIMINAL LAW CODIFICATION
The second part of the course will be devoted to the study of the Italian and European criminal law codification in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, also analysed in its connection with contemporary (from Enlightenment to Liberalism) ideologies, to verify the evolution of institutions already mentioned in the post-revolutionary age and in codification age.

RECOMMENDED READINGS:

Students attending the lessons
Lecture notes, in addition to materials provided by the teacher and moreover the following book:
- Il diritto come forza, la forza del diritto. Le fonti in azione nel diritto europeo tra medioevo ed età contemporanea, a cura di A. SCIUMÈ, Torino, Giappichelli, 2012, pp. 1-109 e 151-215.
Students not attending the lessons

Both the following texts:

- A. CAVANNA, Storia del diritto moderno in Europa. Le fonti e il pensiero giuridico, II vol., Milano, Giuffrè, 2005, pp. 33-222 e 292-358.
- Il diritto come forza, la forza del diritto. Le fonti in azione nel diritto europeo tra medioevo ed età contemporanea, a cura di A. SCIUMÈ, Torino, Giappichelli, 2012, pp. 1-109 e 151-215.

Oral examination.

STUDENT MODULE EVALUATION - 2016/2017