Constitutional Law

Study:	Law - 3. semester
Code:	79145
ECTS:	8.0
Course coordinators:	izv. prof. dr. sc. Ana Horvat Vuković
Exam dates:	09. 07. 2024. 27. 08. 2024. 10. 09. 2024. Exam registration: Studomat

Literature:
The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia; Novi informator (2010), str. 15-67 Branko Smerdel; The Constitutional Order of the Republic of Croatia on the Twentieth Anniversary of the "Christmas" Constitution - the Constitution as a political and legal act; Novi informator (2010), str. 83-171 Besselink, L.; Bovend'Eert; P., Broeksteeg; H., de Lange, R.; Voermans, W.J.M.; Constitutional Law of the EU Member States; Kluwer (2014), str Fleiner, T.; Basta Fleiner, L.; Constitutional Democracy in a Multicultural and Globalised World; Springer (2009), str Branko Smerdel; Design and operation of the "hybrid" presidency - evaluation of the power sharing in the Croatian top executive; Zbornik Pravnog fakulteta u Zagrebu, 65 (2015) 2 (2015), str. 181-211 Branko Smerdel; In quest of a doctrine: Croatian constitutional identity in the European Union; Zbornik Pravnog fakulteta u Zagrebu, 64 (2014) 4 (2014), str. 513-534 Branko Smerdel; Central European Democratic Transition: The Paradigm of; Eleven International Publishing, Hague (2014), str. 51-62
Optional literature:
Branko Smerdel; Đorđe Gardašević; The notion of Security and Free Access to Information Creation and Development; Politics in Central Europe - The Journal of the Central European Political Science Association, 2 (2007) (2007), str. 24-37 Branko Smerdel; Croatian Parliament in a Comparative Perspective; Croatian critical law review, 1 (1996) 1-2 (1996), str. 137-154 Branko Smerdel; The Constitution of Europe Convention on the Future of Europe and the Process of Constitutional Choices; Revus revija za evropsko ustavnost, 1 (2003) 1 (2003), str. 4-14 Branko Smerdel; Ethics in government: conflict of interest and the Constitution; Zbornik Pravnog fakulteta u Zagrebu, 50 (2000) 5 (2000), str. 769-794

Description:

This course offers an introduction to the instruction in the historical, philosophical and legal-theory roots of modern political institutions that form the general framework of government - Croatian as well as comparative. It analyses the background structures of the state's organizational scheme, i.e. the interplay of the three branches of government as well as their functions and limitations, the foremost of which is the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms. The students should become able to analyze the various modalities of judicial reasoning and argumentation, and to articulate informed opinions on important and controversial constitutional issues.

The outline of the course is as follows:

1. Fundamental principles, general themes and object of Constitutional Law. Methods in studying Constitutional Law. Sources of Constitutional Law.
2. Development of constitutionality. Constitutionality in the 19th and 20th century. Revising the constitution. Croatian development of constitutionality.
3. Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms: personal, political, economic, social and cultural. Protection of HR under the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia and in the Council of Europe.
4. Principle of constitutionality and legality, its protection and oversight. American and European system of constitutionality review. Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia.
5. Foundations of state power and the electoral system. Theories of sovereignty. Electoral system, theory and practice of representation. Electoral law in the Republic of Croatia.
6. The system of government. Division of power. Structure and function of the executive, judiciary and legislature. Presidential government. Parliamentary government. Semi-presidential system. Concentration of power and the assembly system.
7. Structure of government in the Republic of Croatia under the 1990 Constitution - semi-presidential system. Structure of government in the Republic of Croatia under the constitutional amendments of 2000 and 2001 - parliamentary system.
8. Composite states and unions of states.
9. Constitutional regulation of international relations.

Cognitive Skills:

After successfully mastering of the course, students will be able to:

1. Differentiate between basic concepts such as the rule of law, constitutional governance, constitutionalism, and constitution, and define them;

2. Explain the historical processes of constitutional development in comparative and Croatian constitutional law, identifying the historical, political, economic, European, international, or other social factors relevant to the creation and application of law;

3. Analyse various aspects of the legal framework in the Republic of Croatia, including in a comparative legal perspective, and evaluate the legal institutes and principles in their developmental perspective and in terms of their relationship to the contemporary legal system;

4. Interpret basic concepts making up the content of constitutional law.

Practical and Generic Skills:

After successfully mastering the course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate the position occupied by the normative content of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia in relation to the basic prerequisites of constitutional governance and to the material content of the concept of “constitution” in comparative law;

2. Analyse the limits of constitutional governance and constitutionalism in comparative and Croatian constitutional law;

3. Evaluate the developmental processes of constitutionally regulated institutes in the Republic of Croatia;

4. Critically compare systems of government in comparative and Croatian constitutional law;

5. Explain the level of development of constitutionality in the Republic of Croatia since the adoption of the 1990 Constitution.

Matching Assessments to Learning Outcomes:

Knowledge will be tested by two partial (midterm) exams, and by a final exam (consisting of a written and oral part).

A partial exam (midterm) is a written form of testing in which students have to show that they can define basic constitutional law and political concepts, reproduce explanations of certain basic political processes, group phenomena (e.g. recognise the problem of minority integration in various contexts), and compare concepts, their meanings and explanatory scope from the standpoint that every rule is intended for application, as well as draft how a certain problem could be researched or explained through various theoretical frameworks, with the aim of regulation on the constitutional law level.

Written part of the final exam consists of a reproduction of elementary explanations of various phenomena, of a comparison of some elementary concepts and explanations from diferent theoretical perspectives, and of the application of concepts and theories to the explanation of various simple phenomena.

Oral part of the final exam consists of testing the understanding of basic concepts and theories, of a comparison of these theories and concepts, of the demonstration of ability to apply them to an explanation of social phenomena and everyday occurrences, and of the evaluation of the applicability of these concepts and theories in the sense of their explanatory power for individual phenomena.

Consultations schedule:

izv. prof. dr. sc. Ana Horvat Vuković:
Office hours are held Mondays from 10:30, except during exam weeks and annual leave.

For students who work or are otherwise unable to make use of these office hours, alternative office hours are scheduled on an individual basis, including via Google Meet, Zoom, Teams and similar platforms.
Location: Trg Republike Hrvatske 3, room 10