The Chair of Constitutional Law organises an annual Constitutional Trial Simulation.
The students are divided into three working groups: 'Constitutional Court', 'Avvocatura dello Stato' and 'Avvocatura del libero foro'.
They are assigned a question of constitutionality actually pending before the Constitutional Court.
The trial simulation takes place in four stages:
1) Illustration of the issue and distribution of the material needed to study it;
2) Drafting and exchange, by the 'parties', of their respective pleadings;
3) Celebration of the "public hearing", at which the "parties" will present their arguments, also in rebuttal to the content of the opposing defence;
4) Reading at the hearing of the motivation ofr the decision taken (and of any dissenting opinions developed within the College) around which a debate will be opened.
The initiative is open to students of the Department of Law, selected by means of a notice published on this page. The optimal structure of the working group is around 30 students.
Training credits will be awarded for students who participated in all phases of the simulation.
a) First meeting: Illustration of the issue and distribution of the material needed to study it.
(b) Drafting and exchange, by the 'parties', of their respective pleadings;
(c) First public hearing.
The hearing constitutes the central moment of the "mock" trial. After the intervention of the Judge-Rapporteur, the constituted parties - represented by the public and private bar - present the arguments in support of their own arguments and reply to those of the opposing defence. The constitutional judges may put questions to the defence lawyers to clarify specific issues.
(d) Second public hearing.
The next stage is a further public hearing.
The second public hearing is not provided for in the 'real' constitutional process: the Court reads out the reasons for the decision taken and any dissenting opinions that have developed within the College. This is followed by a free debate among all those who wish to speak.