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Democratic Institutions and Public
Administrations of Europe: Cohesion
and Innovation in the time of
Economic Crisis
Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche
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Dottorato di ricerca in Scienze giuridiche
Indirizzo in Diritto pubblico, diritto urbanistico e dell’ambiente
Giovedì 19 febbraio 2015, ore 9,30
A Comparison between German and Italian Models of
Welfare State
Jeff King, University College of London, Visiting Humboldt Scholar, Humboldt
University of Berlin (2014-15)
The German Concept of the Constitutional Social State (soziale
Rechtsstaat)
Alessandra Albanese, Università di Firenze
Il modello sociale italiano e la sua attuazione (The Italian Social
Model and its Implementation)
Chair, Stefano Civitarese Matteucci, Università di Chieti-Pescara
Polo delle Scienze Sociali, edificio D4, aula 1.02
Via delle Pandette, 35 - Firenze
Abstract
Conventional Anglo-American understandings of constitutionalism suggest that the
welfare state is not an appropriate subject for constitutional regulation, either because
of political disagreement over its form or because of the dynamic nature of social policy.
Conservatives, neoliberals and progressives alike tend to meet on this plateau, which
favours a minimalist constitution. The German and Italian experiences both suggest a
different understanding, yet each does so in a different way. In Germany, the
constitution declares that it is a 'social¹ state, but is otherwise more minimalist than its
Italian counterpart. Nevertheless, German courts have interpreted the bill of rights and
constitution more generally in a way that is protective of established social programmes
and in some cases has required important social investment. This seminar will explore
the German experience, where the 'Sozialstaatsprinzip' has been the subject of extensive
scholarly inquiry. More specifically: the speaker will address the nature of a social rule
of law state (sozialer Rechtsstaat), relationship between a social rule of law and
constitutional social rights; the relationship between textual constitutional
commitments and actual political practice; and the general implications of a
commitment to the social state principle for social, labour and private law.
Cycle of Seminars: The impact of the financial-economic crisis on the guarantee of welfare
rights
Cycle of Seminars: The impact of the financial-economic crisis on the guarantee of welfare
rights
This event is the first of a cycle of seminars within a three-year research project focusing on the
content and orientation of welfare reforms in five core EU Member States (UK, Italy, Germany,
France, and Spain). The research unit based at Chieti-Pescara University, in partnership with the
York Law School, focuses on the impact of the crisis on the guarantee of welfare rights.
This research forms part of a larger research programme funded by the Italian Ministry for
Universities and Research, led in partnership between eleven Italian Universities, on the impact of
the financial crisis entitled: "Democratic Institutions and Public Administrations of Europe: Cohesion
and Innovation in the time of Economic Crisis". The objective of this larger programme is to explore
the impact of the financial-economic crisis on the relationships between the EU and the democratic
and public institutions of Member States.
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- 17th February 2015, Dipartimento di scienze giuridiche e sociali, Pescara, Jeff King, The soziale
Rechtsstaat and German Private and Labour Law
- 19th February 2015, Dipartimento di scienze giuridiche, Firenze, Jeff King - Alessandra Albanese, A
Comparison between German and Italian Models of Welfare State
- 19th March 2015, Dipartimento di scienze giuridiche e sociali, Pescara, Adam Tucker,
Contemporary Controversies over Human Rights in the United Kingdogm,
- 26th March 2015, Dipartimento di scienze giuridiche e sociali, Pescara, Caroline Hunter, Legal
recognition as a challenge to the closing of soup runs in London
- 26th March 2015, Dipartimento di scienze giuridiche e sociali, Pescara, Kathryn Wright, Courts
and European regulatory networks
- 23rd May 2015, Dipartimento di scienze giuridiche e sociali, Pescara, Jed Meers presents the report
”Shifting the Place of Social Security: Welfare Reform and Social Rights under the Coalition
Government’s Austerity Programme”
Workshop - York Law School 4-5 September 2015
The research project will culminate in a workshop, to be held at the University of York Law School on
4th and 5th September 2015.
The workshop will focus narrowly on the impact of the crisis on the guarantee of welfare rights. It will
consider especially the interaction between national reforms, supranational and national legal sources
about rights, and courts situated at different levels within the European legal and institutional space.
The workshop will draw together leading international scholars and younger academics in the fields of
public law, EU law, legal theory and political science. Its key ambition is to develop a collection of
essays that offers an international and comparative perspective on whether, how, and to what extent
the narrative of rights and their enforcement affect and should affect social policies (e.g., health, social
security, housing) in times of austerity.
The starting point for the workshop’s enquiry is the remarkable increase in judicial enforcement of
social rights in recent times.
A provisional programme of the workshop and further information on the research project can be
found at www.socialrights.uk or http://www.stefanocivitarese.eu/stefanocivitarese.eu/PRIN.html