SCIENZE GIURIDICHE

Module DIRITTO PENALE

Knowledge and understanding

The course aims at providing students with basic knowledge about general principles governing criminal law and basic categories in this matter, taking account of Italian Constitution and EU and international legal framework. Skills acquired during the course should allow students to recognise the basic conditions of criminal liability, especially in sectors relevant for their careers, such as, for example, health and safety in workplace and food safety.

Thinking critically and autonomously

The course intends to provide students with capacity to better understand basic rules and requirements relating to criminal liability, stimulating students’ skills of reflecting and discussing critically and autonomously on their specific structure and function and with the ability to appreciate the legal reasoning supporting various arguments and interpretative options.

Communication skills

The course aims at providing students with the specific technical-legal language typical of criminal law and with the ability to use such language in a precise and confident way in order to communicate concepts acquired during the course.

Learning ability

The course aims at providing students with basic knowledge about general principles and basic categories ruling criminal law and criminal liability.

- Legitimacy and functions of criminal law. Principles governing criminalisation ex ante. Functions and goals of criminal sanctions;

- Sources of criminal law. Rule of law and criminal law: the nullum crimen sine lege principle and its consequences (clarity, non-retroactivity of criminal law and detrimental judicial interpretation, accessibility and foreseeability). Intepretation of criminal law. Scope of application of criminal law;

- The criminal offence. Distinction between felonies and misdemeanours. Theory of criminal offence: different opinions among Italian legal scholars. Acuts reus, mens rea and defences (both as justifications and excuses), other grounds of non-punishability in relation to different types of criminal offences (behaviour/omission; intentional criminal offences/negligent criminal offences);

- Attempt; Participation in crime (aiding, abetting, inciting and encouraging to commit a crime); Aggravating and diminishing circumstances; concurring criminal offences;

- Criminal sanctions: penalties and security measures. Corporate liability.

- Applying principles and categories ruling criminal liability to the sectors of health and safety in the workplace and food safety.

The aims and the content of the course represent a significant contribution in the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals, especially those set out in numbers 8 (promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all: 8.8. by protecting labour rights and promoting safe and secure working environments), and 16 (promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels: 16.1. by significantly reducing all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere; 16.3. by promoting the rule of law at the national and international levels; 16.6. by developing effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels).

Students may choose among the following criminal law handbooks:

- G. FIANDACA-E. MUSCO, Diritto penale. Parte generale, Zanichelli, Bologna, 9a ed., 2024.

- G. MARINUCCI-E. DOLCINI-G.L. GATTA, Manuale di Diritto Penale. Parte generale, Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre, Milano, 13a ed., 2024.

- D. PULITANO', Diritto Penale, Giappichelli, Torino, 10a ed., 2023.

Reading an updated version of Italian Criminal Code is highly reccomended.

Further texts will be provided by professor during the course.