Family and Juvenile Law
PROF. ANDREA NICOLUSSI; PROF. MARTA BERTOLINO
COURSE AIMS
MODULE I (Prof. Andrea Nicolussi)
Study of civil family law with special reference to the tension between the
institutional and contractual conceptions and to the issues raised by biotechnology.
MODULE II (Prof. Marta Bertolino)
The course addresses the issue of juveniles in the criminal law system from a dual
standpoint: the juvenile as the victim of a crime and the juvenile as the perpetrator
of crime, with particular reference to the criminogenic role of the family. The
subject will be approached from an interdisciplinary way in checking the
substantive and procedural categories of the current juvenile criminal system as
one whose primary objective is to protect juveniles through and from the criminal
law. The aim of the course is thus to trace an outline of a juvenile criminal law
consistent with the constitutional and international perspective, commencing from
the current substantive and procedural law.
COURSE CONTENT
MODULE I: Civil Family Law
Family and law. The tension between the institutional and contractual conceptions.
Family and constitution.
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Marriage
Requisites for and form of marriage .Marriage promise.
Marital consent.
Nullity.
Putative marriage.
Marriage in accordance with the Concordat and other forms of marriage.
The marriage relationship and article 160 of the Civil Code.
Personal and economic relations between spouses.
Separation, divorce and rights of the children. Joint custody between biparenting and co-parenting.
– Liability and family.
– Marriage and legalisation of cohabitation. Private autonomy and persons.
2. Filiation
– Concept of filiation.
– Filiation within marriage and filiation outside marriage.
– Criteria for establishing filiation and State action. Status and demand for
autonomy. The right to know one's biological origins.
– The filiation relationship. Decisions, interest of the child and respect for his or
her capacity and natural inclination. Medical decision. Prematurity.
– Filiation and biotechnology. Medically assisted procreation.
– Filiation and liability.
– Adoption and foster care.
MODULE II: Juvenile Criminal Law
Part I: Juveniles
1. Juveniles in international conventions: rights and protection of children.
2. Juveniles in the Italian constitution: fundamental rights and protection.
Part II: Juveniles in the criminal justice system.
1. Evolution and criminal policy of the juvenile criminal system.
Section A
2. Juveniles as victims of crime and the prospect for protection
– in the family;
– against sexual violence;
– against sexual abuse: paedophilia and sexual exploitation.
3. Criminal procedure and protection of juvenile victims of crime.
Section B
3. Juveniles as perpetrators of crime:
– the question of liability and establishing it;
– juvenile crime: criminal policy considerations, socio-psychological aspects
and empirical-statistical data;
– punishment.
4. The legislative response to juvenile unrest and delinquency: the juvenile court,
the 'Rocco Code' and juvenile trials (from 1988).
READING LIST
For Module I
A. NICOLUSSI (ed.), Diritto civile della famiglia, EDUCatt.
For Module II
M. BERTOLINO, Il minore vittima di reato, Torino, last ed.
M. BERTOLINO (ed.), Materiali per il corso di Diritto penale minorile, handout available from the
library service at EDUCatt office.
TEACHING METHOD
Lectures for both modules.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
Assessment takes the form of two independent tests for each module (Family Civil Law
and Juvenile Criminal Law), both necessary to pass the examination.
NOTES
Further information can be found on the lecturer's webpage at
http://docenti.unicatt.it/web/searchByName.do?language=ENG or on the Faculty notice
board.