OVERVIEW

The course Philosophies of punishment will introduce the student to the debate on the concept and justification of criminal offenses and punishment. This goal will be pursued specifically through the study of an ideal model of ‘minimal’ criminal law. In any case, the course purports to develop the student's argumentative skills and their capacity to identify the strenghts and weaknesses of competing views on the justification of punishment in the 21st Century.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course has two parts. The first one explores different theories about the justification of punishment; the second one analyses those instruments used to repress criminality in contemporary occidental societies.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

More specifically, we will:
- introduce the main contemporary attemps to justify punishment (retributivism, utilitarianism, mixed accounts) as well at the abolitionist position;
- identify various types of punishment, and discuss their functions and alternatives.

At the end of the course, the students will have an adequate grasp of the definition, the modalities, and the functions of punishment. Moreover, they will be able to defend and criticise various stategies of justifying punishment.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures and seminars with active student participation. 

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The grounds of punishment. – The many reasons for punishment: prevention, reparation, resocialization, etc. – Two models of Criminal Law. – The institution and the application of punishment: guiding principles. – A debate regarding the capital punishment. The crisis of the modern system of punishment. – The definition of “crime”. – When, and how, a behaviour can be legally identified as a crime? – The doctrine of “the object of protection” (bene giuridico).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Students attending the lessons:
- Luigi Ferrajoli,  Il paradigma garantista. Filosofia e critica del diritto penale, Editoriale Scientifica, Napoli, 2014. Parti I, II, IV e V.  (204 pages).
- Maringela Ripoli, Carcere, risocializzazione, Diritti (a cura di I. Fanlo Cortes e M.L Tasso) Giappichelli, Torino, 2006, pp. 45-74, 105-114 (40 pages).
- A brief essay that will be chosen during the course.

Students that do not attend the lessons:
- Luigi Ferrajoli, Il paradigma garantista. Filosofia e critica del diritto penale, Editoriale Scientifica, Napoli, 2014 (278 pages).
- Maringela Ripoli, Carcere, risocializzazione, diritti (a cura di I. Fanlo Cortes e M.L Tasso) Giappichelli, Torino, 2006, pp. 17-74, 105-114 (40 pages).
- David Garland, Pena e società moderna. Uno studio di teoria sociale, il Saggiatore, Milano, 1999. Limitatamente a: cap. II, III, IV, V, e VI (113 pages).

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ANDREJ KRISTAN (President)

ANDREA BARCA

LUCA MALAGOLI (President Substitute)

MARIA CRISTINA REDONDO NATELLA (President Substitute)

YUNEISY BOADA PEREZ (Substitute)

AGNES DIAZ CASTELLANO (Substitute)

JULIETA AGUSTINA RABANOS (Substitute)

RAQUEL SARRIA ACOSTA (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

I semester from September 14th to December 4th 2020
II semester from February 15th to May 7th 2021

Class schedule

PHILOSOPHY OF PENALTY A

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Students attending the lessons may chose to split the exam in two shorter parts. The first part will be written, the second part oral.

Students who do not attend the lessons have to pass a somewhat longer oral exam.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Those students who attend the lessons may chose to split their exam in two parts. In the first, written part of the exam, the students will be invited to answer six brief questions regarding the contents of the lessons and the recommended bibliography. Those who succeed in the first part of the exam will continue with the second part of the exam. In the second, oral part of the exam, the students will be expected to offer a deeper account of the responses provided in the first part and to answer other questions related to the program. The evaluation will take into account the capacity to understand the problems discussed during the lessons and the ability to analyse the arguments in favor and against various justifications of punishment.

The non attending students go directly to the oral exam, which will be based on the recommended bibliography. The evaluation will take into account their capacity to understand the contents of the bibliography and their ability to analyse the arguments in favour and against various justifications of punlishment.

Exam schedule