2021/2022

2023/2024

DM270

IUS/14 (EUROPEAN UNION LAW)

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

COMMUNICATION, INNOVATION, MULTIMEDIA

PERCORSO COMUNE

3°

2nd semester (26/02/2024 - 24/05/2024)

6

36 lesson hours

Italian

ORAL TEST

FALCONI FEDERICA (titolare) - 6 ECTS

For this course, no specific prior knowledge is required either of legal or any other kind, except for those of general education.

This course aims at providing students with a basic understanding for a proper orientation within the extensive legal picture consolidated at the European level in the field of freedom of expression and information. Upon completing the course, students will gain the key notions and concepts, related to the world of communication, regarding the protection of such a fundamental right, by looking separately into the human rights system of protection implemented within the Council of Europe and then into the quite different legal order of the European Union and its regulatory framework, with its own peculiar traits.

The course is divided into two thematic parts.
A preliminary overview is given by tracing the rise of freedom of expression and freedom of information as an international concern at the universal level, and by outlining the main features of the multi-level human rights protection system established at the European level. Then, the first part of the course is focused on the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), with a view to analyze the dynamic case-law of the European Court of Human Rights concerning freedom of expression and information as enshrined in Article 10 ECHR. Particular attention is paid to the key role fulfilled by the press as a "public watchdog" in a democratic society and to the enhanced protection granted to journalists, to the right to report, criticism and satire, to political and commercial communication and to the legal ban on hate speech.
A constant focus is on the problematic issues arising from the development of digital information technologies as related to the exercise of freedom of expression and information.
In its second part, the course will provide an essential picture of the most relevant legal sources regarding freedom of information progressively enacted within the European Union against the background of the implementation of the internal market. Moreover, the essential features of human rights legal protection as implemented within this unique legal order are addressed, referring to the set of rules and principles currently established by the EU Charter of Fundamental Human Rights and to the relevant case-law of the EU Court of Justice.

The course is for the most part delivered by lectures, with the projection of Power Point presentations which are intended to highlight the key points of the topics covered in class, and to give references to each relevant legal material on which each lesson is based on, also providing links to further information. All the Power Point presentations used in classes are made available to students via the KIRO platform.
In parallel, students' active participation is encouraged by examining case studies intended to trigger open discussion guided by the teacher regarding the solution of the underlying legal issues.
For students providing documentary evidence as to their inability to attend classes, video recorded lessons and other supplementary materials will be provided by the teacher in order to ensure a profitable preparation of the exam in autonomy. In addition, the teacher will be available for online receiving, on an individual basis, so as to give targeted support.

The reference test is indicated herein:
Vladimiro Zagrebelsky, Roberto Chenal, Laura Tomasi, "Manuale dei diritti fondamentali in Europa", Torino, Il Mulino, 3rd Edition, 2022, limited to pages 21-168; 349-355; 371-391; 445-504; 516-523; 529-535.
For Erasmus students and all the others wishing to take the exam in English, the reference text is the following: Pieter van Dijk, Fried van Hoof, Arjen van Rijn, Leo Zwaak (eds.), Theory and Practice of the European Convention of Human Rights, Antwerpen, Intersentia, pp. 765-811.
Other teaching materials such as legal journal articles, legal acts and case law by the relevant international courts, are indicated each time by the teacher during the course and made available through KIRO learning platform, However, these latter are merely intended to provide support to students towards a more effective understanding of the several themes addressed and analyzed. Thus, an in-depth knowledge of these latter is not required.

The exam will consist of an oral interview, carried out individually, in order to evaluate the degree of knowledge gained by students, also through self-study, as to the several topics of the course.
More specifically, through a number of questions covering the various topics, students are expected to demonstrate that they have acquired the basic knowledge for understanding the relevant legal rules enacted at the international and supranational level and also to carry out autonomous and critical assessments as concerns the several legal issues analyzed in particular making reference to the case-law developed, respectively within the legal framework of the Council of Europe and the European Union, by the pertinent judicial bodies. The final evaluation is proportionate to the degree of understanding and in-depth knowledge of the topics of the course.

For any further information, please write directly to the teacher: federica.falconi@unipv.it.

The topics covered by the course are linked in particular to the following goals as set out by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:
Goal No 10, "Reducing Inequalities"
Goal No. 16, "Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions"
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