Corsi di Studio del Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza

The Anti Discrimination Law course is framed within the general objective of the Master Programme in European Legal Studies to provide the students with an advanced cultural and knowledge of legal phenomena on the European Union and Council of Europe systems. 

The theories and practices of anti-discrimination law will be analysed in order to help students to make systematic interpretations of the various sources of law regarding equality and non discrimination and to improve the students' proficiency in understanding and critically analysizing judicial cases.

By the end of the course students shouldshould achieve the following learning objectives:

a) Knowledge and comprehension

- awareness of the multilevel protection from different forms of discrimination 

-ability to critically analyse relevant legal texts (EU acts, case law, etc.)

- awareness of the role played by civil society organizatons, trade unions, equality bodies

b) Ability to apply knowledge and comprehension 

- Ability to handle a complex reasoning on EU legal texts

- Ability to apply the rules and principles of EU law to a given situation and to catch their implications

Autonomous intellectual approach and critical thinking

- Ability to organise the knowledge acquired and to weight its importance and relevance

- Ability to undertsand and to discuss topical issues through the lenses of EU and CoE law

- Ability to explain the knowledge acquired, by using an appropriate legal terminology 

The course will be held through presence lessons. For those who cannot make it to Turin or to the Campus because of COVID-19 restrictions, classes will be broadcasted in streaming, via the personal WeBex room of the Professor. Please check on the Moodle e-learning page for more detailed information in relation to each class.

Face-to-face classes will consist of lectures as well as interactive activities. Students will be encouraged to engage in a range of individual and group tasks during classes, including the discussion of the relevant material from course readings and the debate over selected case-law. 

Final exam is written. it consists of two parts: 1) multiple-choice quiz (50%) 2) short essay (50)%.

Students attending at least 70% of the classes may choose to be evaluated on a multiple-choice quiz (50%) and on a class presentation or written paper (50%).

For the purposes of the final evaluation, the following criteria will be taken into consideration:

- formal accuracy (including grammar)

- completeness of the answers

- adequate selection of the relevant arguments

- adequate presentation of the arguments (including use of appropriate legal terminology)

- autonomous organization and elaboration of the answer

The Moodle e-learning page of the course is a key-instrument. The students are expected to enroll in Moodle and check the platform on a regular basis.

In particular, the Moodle e-learning page will host:

- An ebook collecting all relevant EU, CoE and domestic legislation.

- Powerpoint presentations

- Suggested readings and judicial decisions 

- Materials to participate in interactive activities

The course will begin with an introduction to the different concepts of equality and an overview of the U.S., European, and other national and international anti-discrimination law systems. 

Particular attention will be paid to recent developments in the protection from discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, disability at the European level in light of the most significant domestic constitutional case-law as well as through the European Court of Human Rights and and the Court of Justice of the European Union leading cases.

The final part of the course will be dedicated to the role of advocacy, lobbying and litigation strategies in combating discrimination.