Programme

Part I. Introduction to Constitutional and European environmental law
- The legal concept of “environment”
- Environment and plurality of legal systems
- Environmental law and European constitutional law
- The institutional framework of the European Union (brief outline)
- The sources of European environmental law

Part II. Principles of European environmental law
- Environmental law and European integration
- Environmental protection in the European Treaties in force. The Treaty of Lisbon
- General principles of Union's action: The principle of sustainable development
- Environmental protection in the light of subsidiarity and solidarity
- Principle of integration
- Fundamental principles of the Union's environmental policies
- Principle that preventive action should be taken
- Precautionary principle
- Principle that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source
- Principle that the polluter should pay


Part III. Decision-making processes and securities concerning environmental law
- Environmental protection and division of powers between the European Union and the Member States
- Objectives and criteria on Union policy on the environment
- European legislative proceedings
- European legislation on Environmental protection and its implementation within Member States
- General action programmes and soft law
- Art. 37 European Charter of Fundamental Rights
- The right to a healthy environment and the Court of Strasbourg
- The climate litigation (brief outline)

Core Documentation

P. Scarlatti, Lezioni di diritto europeo dell'ambiente, Giappichelli, Torino, 2025.
Students should also be in full possession of the fundamental texts of European law, such as, for example, P. Scarlatti (ed.), Codice essenziale di diritto costituzionale dell'Unione europea, Roma, Aracne, 2011.

Attendance

Attendance to the course is not mandatory, but highly recommended.

Type of evaluation

A final oral examination is expected in order to verify the knowledge acquired al well as the student's critical skills in relation to the main legal issues and the various factors affecting the relationship between legal systems. With regard to specific learning disorders 'SLD', concept maps may shall be sent to the professor at least ten days before the exam, shall be strictly keyword-based and shall be limited in number.