Introduction to Italian Criminal Law - 6 crediti

The course is entirely thaught in English and aims to provide foreign students with a basic knowledge of Italian criminal system.

The institutional part of the course focuses on the following topics: (I) fundamental background information about the criminal justice system in Italy; (II) sources of Italian criminal law; (III) fundamental constitutional principles: the principle of legality (nullum crimen sine lege); the prohibition of retroactive criminal law; the principle of individual guilty mind (nullum crimen sine culpa); the principle of proportionality: the purpose of criminal punishment under the Constitution.

The second part of the course concentrates on the grounds for criminal liability: (I) physical element (actus reus); (II) mental element (mens rea); (III) justification; (IV) legal excuse; (V) chargeability and exclusions of criminal responsibility; (VI) criminal attempt; (VII) participation in criminal offences.

The third part addresses the sanctioning system and the alternatives to detention.

The fourth part will provide an outline of Italian criminal procedure.

Please note that during the year 2015 the fourth part will be exceptionally thaught at the beginning of the course.