Research at DiDEC

In the economic-legal field, particular importance has been given to issues relating to environmental protection from a legal perspective, the enhancement of local territories, and the implementation of qualitative and quantitative tools for evaluating ongoing economic policies, especially significant in light of the current economic crisis.  
Within this framework, departmental research in this area focuses on the close relationship between sustainability and the environment, understood both from a natural and cultural perspective, as well as from an economic-business and legal standpoint. Increasing attention is also devoted to the study of climate change and the development of appropriate legal instruments (at international, European and national levels) to foster effective mitigation policies, as well as adaptation strategies for the affected territories.  
 

ERC SECTORS:

SH2_1 Political systems, governance

SH2_4 Legal studies, constitutions, human rights, comparative law

SH7_5 Sustainability sciences, environment and resources

SH7_6 Environmental and climate change, societal impact and policy

SH7_7 Cities; urban, regional and rural studies

SH7_8 Land use and planning

• Environmental protection and ecological transition

  The area encompasses research lines from both public and private law perspectives, including historical and comparative analyses.

  From the public law perspective, research primarily focuses on administrative tools for the protection and management of land and the environment, conceived as complex systems characterised by uncertainty which, in line with the ecological transition framework, require institutions to adopt an evolutionary and adaptive approach.

  Particular attention is devoted to judicial protection of the right to the environment, liability for environmental damage, criminal protection of the environment, and so-called climate change litigation, aimed at encouraging public institutions to intensify efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is not examined solely in terms of mitigation, but also with regard to adaptation policies.

  Within a thematic framework where public and private law dimensions converge and intersect, market-based instruments for environmental protection are also considered (such as emissions trading/building rights, payments for ecosystem services, etc.). Environmental and land governance policies are analysed not only from a legal perspective but also in terms of their social and economic impacts.

  The research centre POLAMB operates within this area, focusing on the study of environmental and territorial policies.

  Affiliated academic staff:

  • Valentina Erminia Albanese – Associate Professor
  • Emanuele Boscolo – Full Professor
  • Maurizio Cafagno – Full Professor
  • Sebastiano Citroni – Associate Professor
  • Stefano Fanetti – Researcher
  • Giorgio Grasso – Full Professor
  • Valentina Jacometti – Full Professor
  • Carmela Leone – Associate Professor
  • Paolo Lepore – Associate Professor
  • Chiara Perini – Full Professor
  • Barbara Pozzo – Full Professor
  • Deborah Toschi – Associate Professor

This area brings together diverse research strands, all centred on issues relating to the nature and protection of fundamental rights within the context of a globalised and plural world, characterised by the interaction between legal systems deriving from state and international sources, as well as from religious (canonical) and broader cultural-traditional origins. Fundamental rights highlight the centrality of individuals and their normative choices, revealing both the proximity and the tensions between different legal orders. The study of how such conflicts are managed by law underpins the analysis of the religious and philosophical foundations of fundamental rights, the processes and forms through which they are positivised within state-based legal systems, as well as the study of conciliatory and transformative methods and practices as pathways towards a concept of law—and justice—capable of addressing contemporary challenges. Another area of inquiry concerns the impact and effectiveness of the various instruments for the protection of rights, in light of their continuous evolution, also in relation to concrete practices and historically developed application dynamics.

Particularly significant in this respect is the work of the Department’s research centres: REDESM (Religions, Rights and Economies in the Mediterranean Space), CeSGReM (Centre for Studies on Restorative Justice and Mediation), DirMIS (Research Centre on Law, Media, Information and Society) and FEDAL (Federalism and Local Autonomies).

This area also includes the activities of the UNESCO Chair on “Gender Equality and Women’s Rights in the Multicultural Society”.

ERC SECTORS

SH2_1 Political systems, governance

SH2_2 Democratisation and social movements

SH2_3 Conflict resolution, war, peace building, international law

SH2_4 Legal studies, constitutions, human rights, comparative law

SH2_5 International relations, global and transnational governance

SH2_7 Political and legal philosophy

SH3_3 Aggression and violence, antisocial behaviour, crime

SH3_4 Social integration, exclusion, prosocial behaviour

SH3_5 Attitudes and beliefs

SH3_7 Kinship; diversity and identities, gender, interethnic relations

SH3_10 Religious studies, ritual; symbolic representation

SH4_7 Reasoning, decision-making; intelligence

SH5_8 Cultural studies, cultural identities and memories, cultural heritage

SH5_10 Ethics and its applications; social philosophy

SH5_11 History of philosophy

SH6_11 Global history, transnational history, comparative history, entangled histories

SH6_13 Gender history, cultural history, history of collective identities and memories, history of religions

SH7_2 Migration

• Legal pluralism and fundamental rights: state, linguistic and religious dimensions

  This research area focuses on the study of sources of law at state, supranational, international and religious levels, as well as various forms of soft law, and the interaction between different legal systems. Within this framework, particular attention is devoted to the role of fundamental rights with regard to:

  - their philosophical foundations, from both universalist and historical perspectives, also in relation to practical realities;

  - the Italian constitutional framework;

  - the European dimension: national (particularly Switzerland, France, Germany, and the Balkan countries) and supranational (EU and Council of Europe);

  - the international context, with specific focus on relations between the two shores of the Mediterranean;

  - their incorporation within religious legal systems;

  - the impact and effectiveness of the various instruments—both hard and soft law—through which rights are defined and implemented;

  - the influence of developments in the fields of information and communication on these issues.

  A humanistic rather than purely positivist approach, attentive to the dimension of law in action within a context of legal, cultural, linguistic and religious pluralism, and sensitive to the influence of constitutional practice and the effects of economic and financial dynamics on fundamental rights, constitutes a defining feature of this research area.

  Affiliated academic staff:

  • Antonio Angelucci – Associate Professor
  • Sebastiano Citroni – Associate Professor
  • Stella Coglievina – Researcher
  • Elisabetta D’Amico – Researcher
  • Alessandro Ferrari – Full Professor
  • Giorgio Grasso – Full Professor
  • Gabriella Mangione – Full Professor
  • Lino Panzeri – Associate Professor
  • Barbara Pozzo – Full Professor
  • Maria Cristina Reale – Associate Professor
  • Adrian Renteria Diaz – Associate Professor
  • Michele Saporiti – Associate Professor
  • Luigi Testa – Researcher
  • Giulia Tiberi – Researcher
  • Giorgio Zamperetti – Full Professor

• Conflict mediation and criminal law

  This research area is characterised by a multi-level analytical perspective:

  (a) micro-level: concerning the management of individual and concrete conflicts. It examines the conditions, methods and monitoring of dialogical conflict-management processes aimed at promoting reparation for harm and restoring social relationships. Key areas of research and internationalisation include hate crimes, gender-based violence and environmental offences;

  (b) meso-level: concerning legal norms. The paradigm of restorative justice, as an alternative to criminal justice, has a transformative effect on both substantive and procedural law, introducing restorative pathways capable of leading to the extinction of offences or reshaping sanctions in prescriptive, forward-looking and constructive terms;

  (c) macro-level: concerning the broader transformative impact of restorative justice on the concept of justice and its relationship with human rights.

  Affiliated academic staff:

  • Grazia Mannozzi – Full Professor
  • Francesca Ruggieri – Full Professor
  • Chiara Perini – Full Professor
  • Stefano Marcolini – Associate Professor
  • Gilda Ripamonti – Researcher

A distinctive feature of DiDEC is its well-established and documented tradition of research on legal multilingualism, both from the perspective of legal translation within the European Union and in terms of the interrelations and tensions between different legal cultures. Within this framework lies the activity of the Interuniversity Research Centre in Comparative Law. Alongside this, research has for several years focused on language within criminal proceedings and explores legal-criminal language starting from its Proto-Indo-European roots.

With regard to cultural heritage, research is also conducted within the PhD programme in Law and Humanities, in which many DiDEC academics are involved, and in collaboration with CRISAC (Research Centre on the History of Contemporary Art), adopting a civil law, public international law and interdisciplinary perspective. Doctoral teaching and research outputs—including scientific publications and national and international conferences—are the result of an ongoing dialogue between law, music, art history and museology, addressing the notion of culture in general and cultural heritage from legal, institutional, political and ethical perspectives.

One research line focuses on administrative functions relating to landscape and cultural heritage, particularly on models of collaboration between public and private actors for the purposes of protection and enhancement.

Particular attention is also devoted—partly in connection with the research area “Fundamental Rights”—to the study of religious multiculturalism and the relationships between state and religious legal systems within the context of an increasingly plural Mediterranean space. In this regard, the contribution of DiDEC research centres (notably REDESM) and initiatives linked to the multidisciplinary university course in development education (organised in collaboration with UNICEF and in agreement with the University) are especially significant.

ERC SECTORS

SH2_1 Political systems, governance

SH2_4 Legal studies, constitutions, human rights, comparative law

SH2_5 International relations, global and transnational governance

SH3_2 Inequalities, discrimination, prejudice

SH3_3 Aggression and violence, antisocial behaviour, crime

SH3_7 Kinship; diversity and identities, gender, interethnic relations

SH5_8 Cultural studies, cultural identities and memories, cultural heritage

SH6_7 Medieval history

• Multilingualism and linguistic research

  Within the sub-area dedicated to Multilingualism and linguistic research, the primary focus is on criminal proceedings in civil law and common law systems, with particular reference to Germany, France and the United States of America. Comparison is carried out using the functional comparative method, with particular attention paid to legal terminology across different legal systems. From a specifically linguistic perspective, research also develops along historical and anthropological lines, addressing legal-criminal language from its Proto-Indo-European linguistic roots.

  A second line of research concerns the transmission of technical and legal-technical knowledge and the training of professionals, particularly legal practitioners. The ways in which a profession is learned deeply influence professional mindsets and may generate biases and prejudices. In this respect, comparison between civil law and common law systems highlights how different training pathways shape modes of reasoning and ultimately affect the resolution of individual cases.

  Considerable attention is also devoted to modern legal language and translation studies. DiDEC has a well-established and documented tradition in the study of legal multilingualism, both in terms of legal translation within the European Union and in relation to the interactions and tensions between different legal cultures.

  Affiliated academic staff:

  • Elena Catalano – Associate Professor
  • Valentina Jacometti – Full Professor
  • Grazia Mannozzi – Full Professor
  • Stefano Marcolini – Associate Professor
  • Gilda Ripamonti – Researcher
  • Francesca Ruggieri – Full Professor

• Cultural heritage

  The sub-area dedicated to cultural heritage addresses the notion of culture in general and cultural heritage from legal, institutional, political and ethical perspectives.

  From a legislative standpoint, research focuses on the Italian Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape, as well as on European and international regulations concerning cultural property and copyright protection, with particular attention to the circulation of cultural goods at both national and international levels and to the restitution of unlawfully exported cultural property. Regarding the protection and enhancement of the vast architectural, artistic and archaeological heritage, a diachronic and interdisciplinary perspective has been adopted, taking into account lessons from Roman law, as well as from intermediate and modern legal traditions. Across this broad historical span—from the late Republican period through late antiquity and into the modern era—the need to safeguard what has been created in the architectural and artistic fields consistently emerges, as well as what represents the historical and cultural legacy of a nation, as a repository of beauty, history and collective memory.

  From an ethical and political perspective, increasing attention is paid to the growing demands of so-called “countries of origin” for the restitution of cultural goods considered symbolic of a nation when they are currently held abroad. This issue intersects with the broader theme of preserving collective memory and the processes of constructing national identity, which necessarily pass through cultural heritage—also recently emphasised by the European Commission in relation to European identity.  
  In this context, a further line of research—linked also to the “Fundamental Rights” research axis—examines religious multiculturalism and the relationships between state and religious legal systems within an increasingly plural Mediterranean context. Particular attention is devoted to transformations of religious heritage in a multicultural setting (with reference to both Christianity and Islam as a “new religion”), as well as to the role of religion in tourism, including its connections with sustainable tourism and the protection and enhancement of cultural and religious heritage.

  With regard to institutions, research focuses on the role of public museums, foundations—also in light of recent third sector reforms—and other entities pursuing non-profit cultural aims, such as English law charities.  
  One line of inquiry explores possible forms of public-private partnership aimed at sharing resources and expertise and capable of mobilising investment and funding, also with a view to fostering local development.  
  A significant strand of research also examines the relationship between art, law and new technologies. Digitalisation, along with advanced technologies such as 3D technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing, data technologies, virtual reality and augmented reality, enables not only the creation of new forms of art and related services but also, and perhaps above all, the widespread and global dissemination of culture and knowledge, with broader implications for globalisation processes.  
  Finally, research also addresses the issue of gender equality as it relates to both law (in its objective and subjective dimensions, as a constitutionally guaranteed right to equality) and culture.

  Affiliated academic staff

  • Valentina Erminia Albanese – Associate Professor
  • Emanuele Boscolo – Full Professor
  • Maurizio Cafagno – Full Professor
  • Marta Cenini – Associate Professor
  • Stella Coglievina – Associate Professor
  • Mario Conetti – Associate Professor
  • Alessandro Ferrari – Full Professor
  • Carmela Leone – Associate Professor
  • Paolo Lepore – Associate Professor
  • Geo Magri – Associate Professor
  • Grazia Mannozzi – Full Professor
  • Marco Migliorini – Researcher
  • Gilda Ripamonti – Researcher
  • Lucrezia Palandri – Researcher

This area encompasses several lines of research, all focused on the individual, in both their physical and, above all, legal dimensions. Particular attention, including through a comparative approach, is given to the economy and rights in the Mediterranean region, public and private governance, public contracts, and the fashion and textile sectors.

Of particular relevance in this regard is the work of the Research Centre for Customs and International Trade Law.

ERC DOMAINS

SH1_7 Behavioural economics; experimental economics; neuro-economics

SH1_8 Microeconomic theory; game theory; decision theory

SH1_15 Public economics; political economics; law and economics

SH2_1 Political systems, governance

SH2_4 Legal studies, constitutions, human rights, comparative law

SH2_5 International relations, global and transnational governance

• Legal persons in the market

Research focuses on the study of legal persons in the market, with particular reference to enterprises and new forms of legal personality, such as non-profit organisations and hybrid companies. In addition to traditional commercial law topics, such as the role of shareholders in legal entities and commercial contracts, innovative and interdisciplinary issues are addressed, including, at present, corporate liability for environmental damage, fashion law, and the role of social media, in order to follow market developments from the perspective of the legal persons operating within it. 
Another area of research, more generally related to the relationship between the individual and the market, concerns the regulation of employment relationships, labour markets, and industrial relations law.

Relevant faculty:

• Serenella Rossi – Full Professor
• Giorgio Zamperetti – Full Professor
• Valentina Jacometti – Full Professor
• Elisabetta Codazzi – Associate Professor
• Lili Viviana Casano – Researcher
• Lucia Lopez – Researcher
• Andrea Morone – Researcher
• International trade

International trade represents the private and commercial law perspective of relations within the international community. Fundamental components include tax and customs law, while the internal market of the European Union constitutes a specific case of regional integration. From both international and European perspectives, research focuses on market regulation, in terms of taxation, price discrimination, and the circulation of goods. For the regulation of individuals – whether natural or legal persons – operating across borders, research specialises in private international law.

Relevant faculty:

• Fabrizio Vismara – Full Professor
• Paolo Bertoli – Full Professor
• Silvia Marino – Full Professor
• Alessandro Motto – Full Professor
• Procedural law in market regulation

The proper functioning of civil and administrative justice is an essential instrument for the effective operation of the market, also in economic and financial terms. Therefore, it requires thorough examination, both in its classical aspects, such as civil proceedings, arbitration, and insolvency procedures, and in its more innovative and progressively developing instruments, such as so-called “moral suasion”, “nudging”, and other persuasion tools as alternatives to sanctions.

Relevant faculty:

• Francesca Ghirga – Full Professor
• Carmela Leone – Associate Professor
• Alessandro Motto – Full Professor
• Chiara Perini – Full Professor
• Domestic market economics

Multiple lines of research are active in this sector, sometimes working on complementary topics and sometimes converging on shared areas of interest.

One line concerns business economics in its various market forms. Using a multidisciplinary approach encompassing legal and socio-economic disciplines, research focuses on qualitative and quantitative analysis of market trends, considering the continuous evolution of the macroeconomic framework and their relations with businesses and institutions.

In the public law domain, one line of research examines models for structuring and regulating markets, both through traditional powers of independent authorities (Consob, Anac, Agcm, etc.) and through innovative forms such as “nudge regulation”, informed by cognitive sciences and behavioural economics.

Another line focuses on the relationship between competition protection and models for managing economic transactions involving public administration, whether via contractual arrangements, such as procurement and concessions, or through public self-production. This includes reflections on reforms of public service management models and analyses of public procurement functions and prototypes.

Relevant faculty:

• Emanuele Boscolo – Full Professor
• Maurizio Cafagno – Full Professor
• Giuseppe Colangelo – Full Professor
• Umberto Galmarini – Full Professor
• Cristina Elisa Orso – Researcher
• Giuseppe Porro – Full Professor
• Flavia Cortelezzi – Associate Professor
• Carmela Leone – Associate Professor
• Roberta Minazzi – Associate Professor
• Sebastiano Citroni – Associate Professor
• Daniele Grechi – Researcher
• Alessandro Panno – Researcher
• Contract law and new frontiers in civil and commercial law

This research area focuses on certain private law topics from the perspective of market developments. Traditional subjects such as contract and civil liability are analysed historically, to appreciate their diachronic development, comparatively, to evaluate the circulation of legal models, and prospectively, to assess the impact of new technologies on civil law and liability. A currently emerging frontier concerns artificial intelligence and civil liability.

Relevant faculty:

• Gabriella Mangione – Full Professor
• Marta Cenini – Associate Professor
• Paolo Duvia – Associate Professor
• Geo Magri – Associate Professor
• Dominique Feola – Researcher
• Marco Migliorini – Researcher

Highlights:

• Progetto NODES - Nord Ovest Digitale E Sostenibile
• PRIN 2022 – PA Lives Public Administration and Legal Instruments for Valuing Ecosystem Services
• PRIN 2022 – "Next Generation Ita. Increasing Trust, Making Future Generations Possible"
• PRIN 2022 – Progetto Boosting a Sustaibale Religious Pluralism: Public Order and European Constitutional Identity (SURPLEI)
• PRIN 2022 – Permanent transition and adaption of administrative measures
• PRIN 2022 – ITINEREL - Religious and Cultural Routes as ITINEraries towards European Common Values, Sustainable Tourism and the Protection of Cultural and RELigious Heritage for Future Generations
• PRIN 2022 – Verso una maggiore affidabilità della prova tecnico-scientifica per mezzo della metrologia forense. Un nuovo antidoto agli errori giudiziari
• PRIN 2022 – PRIORITY | Shaping the Prosecution Organisational Model of Criminal Reports
• PRIN 2022 – TELOS: Transparency in Employment and Labour markets for inclusive Organisations and Societies
• EU Succession Regulation: First Decade of Application, Strengths, Challenges, Future Outlooks
• Research network for studying sociocultural sustainability through food events

See also: