European studies

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. Introduction: units and methods of comparison 2. Evolution of Administrative law in a comparative perspective 3. European Administrative Law 4. Rule of Law and European legal order 5. Public administration and Administrative agencies in a comparative perspective 6. Public administration and agencies in E.U. 7. Administrative decisions and rules 8. Administrative Procedure 9. Right to be heard and participatory guarantees 10. Transparency and Freedom of information 11. Transparency as fundamental right? 12. Judicial review of administrative action 13. Principle of effective judicial protection in Europe 14. Deference vs. hard look? The US experience 15. Liability of Public Administration 16. Administrative law and regulation of markets 17. Public services and public utilities 18. The future of Administrative law

In order to be admitted to the program, students must have passed the exams European Public Law. 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.

Textbook: S. Rose-Ackerman – P. L. Lindseth – B. Emerson (eds.), Comparative administrative law, II ed., Cheltenham (UK)-Northampton (USA), Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017. Mandatory chapters are: 1. B. Sordi, Révolution, Rechtsstaat and the Rule of Law: historical reflections on the emergence and development of administrative law (ch. 1). 2. P.L. Strauss, Politics and agencies in the administrative state: the U.S. case (ch. 3). 3. M. D’Alberti, Transformations of administrative law: Italy from a comparative perspective (ch. 7). 4. M. Shapiro, A comparison of US and European independent commissions (ch. 14). 5. J. Mashaw, The rise of reason giving in American administrative law (ch. 16). 6. J. Barnes, Three generations of administrative procedures (ch. 18). 7. C. Donnelly, Participation and expertise: judicial attitudes in comparative perspectives (ch. 22). 8. P. Craig, Judicial review of questions of law: a comparative perspective (ch. 23). 9. J. Mathews, Proportionality review in administrative law (ch. 24). 10. P. Cane, A framework for historical comparison of control of national, supranational and transnational public power (ch. 36). 11. J. Saurer, EU Agencies 2.0: the new constitution of supranational administration beyond the EU Commission (ch. 37). 12. M. Ruffert, The constitutional basis of EU administrative law (ch. 40).

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 European and comparative administrative law. Account will be taken, in assessing the student's achievements and in particular the attainment of the top grade, 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 be periodically evaluated through the presentation of relevant cases and judgments that will be previously charged by the teacher - for each teaching module - on the E-learning platform. The presentation of judgments and cases students should demonstrate an adequate critical capacity.

Further readings: • P. Craig, European Administrative Law, III ed., Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018 • P. Cane, Controlling Administrative Power. An Historical Comparison, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2016 • C. Harlow, P. Leino, G. della Cananea, Research Handbook on EU Administrative Law, Cheltenham (UK)-Northampton (USA), Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017 • S. Cassese (ed.), Research Handbook on Global Administrative Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2015. • P. Craig, UK, EU and Global Administrative Law. Foundations and Challenges, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2015. • M. D’Alberti, Diritto amministrativo comparato. Mutamenti dei sistemi nazionali e contesto globale, Bologna, il Mulino, 2019. • Zhu G., Deference to the Administration in Judicial Review: Comparative Perspectives, Cham (Switzerland), Springer International Publishing, 2019. • J.B. Auby, Comparative Law of Administrative Procedure, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2015. • H.J. Blanke - R. Perlingeiro (eds.), The Right of Access to Public Information. An International Comparative Legal Survey, Berlin, Springer, 2018. • M. Ruffert (ed.), The Transformation of Administrative Law in Europe, München, Sellier European Law Publishers, 2007.

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. Attendance to classes is not mandatory, although strongly recommended.