CONSTITUTIONAL PENAL LAW

The Italian Constitutional Law establishes many principles which have
influence, directly or indirectly, on criminal law’s drafting and on its
application. In the last forty years the Italian jurisprudence has paid a
deep attention to the study of the relationship between Constitutional law
and Criminal Law. Pietro Nuvolone and Franco Bricola have been the first
who drafted the so called “constitutional” theory of crime.
During the course will be analyzed the most important constitutional
principles to apply the criminal rules, such as, among the others, the
legal principle, the harm principle, the “colpevolezza” principle, which
concernes the mens rea, and the “ragionevolezza” principle, which
concernes.
During the course those constitutional principles which have a major
influence on criminal law ‘s provisions will be analysed. We refer in
particular to the principle of legality, the harm principle, the so called
principle of “colpevolezza” (concerning the elements of mens rea), the
principle of ragionevolezza (concerning the equal treatment of people in
front of the law).
The classes will be focused, in particular, on the principle of legality, for
its central role in criminalibus. It will be examined referring both to the
law in the books, and to the law in action.