NTERNAL AND INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL ADMINISTRATION LAW

The course aims at enlightening the main legal problems of the digitalization of public administration in Italy and Europe. At the end of the course, the student will be able to know the main regulatory sources regarding the digitization of the public administration and to be aware of the tools available.

Suitability of Legal informatics; successful examinations of Public Law, Constitutional Law and Administrative Law.

Knowledge and understanding: The student - through participation in the lectures and practical activities during the course - will have acquired full knowledge of the general categories of Digital Administrative Law, also in the light of the European regulatory framework. At the end of the course, there will be an oral examination. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: The student - acquiring the correct tools and method - will be able to interpret and apply, even with respect to concrete cases, the principles and institutions of digital administration law with reference to the main issues of organization of data and public systems. It will be able to link these principles with those established at supranational level. The presence of online content in the digital platform of the course and the conduct of practical workshops (case-law, database analysis and websites of public administrations) will allow to verify in real time the skills acquired by students. Autonomy of judgment: The student, by the means of the methodologies acquired during the course, will be able to collect data and materials, to analyze the relevant regulatory sources and to understand the main features of legal scholars, as well as case law. The profound knowledge of digital administration law and digital administrative procedure will thus offer to the student various ability to independently evaluate such data – making critical judgment on their application to concrete cases, identifying the appropriate solutions to the practical problems, providing support to the process of digitization of public administrations and, finally, interacting with administrative structures through digital tools. Communication skills: at the end of the course, the student will be able to use with adequate terminological precision, the technical-legal lexicon proper to the digital administration normative texts (the Italian Digital Administration Code, as well as the main European Acts), with reference also to the problems of the processing and protection of data and public systems. Through participation in the different activities of the course - lessons with classroom discussions, and workshops - the student will learn to put these communication skills into practice in different contexts. She/he will be able to adapt the lexicon to the interlocutor, thus acquiring additional rhetorical and argumentative skills, indispensable for his professional path – both with reference to the prospect of insertion within a public administration and as a user of public processes of a digital nature. Learning skills: The technical-legal knowledge acquired during the course will allow the student to independently understand and interpret the normative, doctrinal and jurisprudential innovations related to the discipline of digital administrative law (IT administrative procedure, organization of data and public systems, also from the point of view of the protection of privacy and document conservation, as well as cybersecurity). The student will develop a solid knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the subject that will allow him to continue to deepen the topics addressed and to undertake the different post-graduate vocational training courses.

Constitutional principles for Digital public administration; the distribution of competences between the State, Regions and Local authorities. The Digital Administration Code; national and European Acts; the "digital" rights of citizens and undertakings. The electronic document and the electronic signatures: digital forms in administrative activity; the electronic protocol and the conservation of acts. The digital administrative procedure and the algorithmic decision. The protection of privacy and the data strategy from the public bodies’ perspective; The websites of public administrations; an overview of the digital justice.

Suggested Texts: 1) R. Arcella, G. Vitrani, The Digital Administration Code. Discipline and Applications, Milano, Giuffrè-Lefebvre, 2024; 2) L. Torchia, The Digital State. An Introduction, Bologna, il Mulino, 2nd ed., 2025, Chapters IV, V, VII and VIII. Exam modalities are differentiated for: 1) Attending students; 2) Erasmus students or interns; 3) Non-attending students. See the relevant section for details

Lectures. In addition to the formal legal explanations, practical applications concerning the “digital” public administration will be presented and discussed. Short supplementary debates and case studies will be illustrated, even by external experts.

Exam modalities are differentiated for: 1) Attending students; 2) Erasmus students or interns; 3) Non-attending students. The relevant conditions and procedures are specified below. These guidelines are valid and mandatory also for students enrolled in previous academic years. Materials possibly uploaded on My Luiss are optional, for everybody. 1. ATTENDING STUDENTS Preparation Text for Exam for Attending Students: R. Arcella, G. Vitrani, The Digital Administration Code. Discipline and Applications, Chapters 1, 2, 3 (only paragraphs 1 and 3), 6 (only paragraph 5), 7, 9, 10, 12, 14 (only paragraphs 1 and 2), 15, 16, 18. Conditions to be admitted as attending students Two conditions are required: a) Attendance at lectures, not less than 80%; b) "Active" participation: interventions in class, discussions and presentation of cases, articles or documents, demonstrating careful and progressive engagement with the subject matter. Failure to reach the attendance threshold specified in letter (a) will not allow admission as attending students. In case of sufficient attendance as per letter (a), but lack of active participation as per letter (b), immediate admission as attending students is not possible. In this case, an integration will be required, such as discussion of a text of interest (a chapter from a volume, a doctrinal article, a thematic report, a court ruling, or other documentation), to be agreed upon with the Professor and presented during the oral exam. Attendance is valid for one academic year. 2. ERASMUS AND INTERNS Preparation Texts for Exam for Erasmus students and interns: 1) R. Arcella, G. Vitrani, The Digital Administration Code. Discipline and Applications, Chapters 1, 2, 3 (only paragraphs 1 and 3), 6 (only paragraph 5), 7, 9, 10, 12, 14 (only paragraphs 1 and 2), 15, 16, 18. 2) L. Torchia, The Digital State. An Introduction, Bologna, il Mulino, 2nd ed., 2025, Chapters IV, V, VII and VIII. Conditions to be recognized as Erasmus students or interns: Submission of an official certificate from Luiss University: a) issued ex post, b) indicating the coincidence with the second semester of the 2025-2026 academic year, such that attendance is not possible, c) indicating the destination State and University (for Erasmus) or the activity performed and the relevant reference structure (for internships). An incomplete certificate, lacking even one of the elements indicated above, will not allow recognition as Erasmus or Intern students for exam purposes. 3. NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS Preparation Texts for Exam R. Arcella, G. Vitrani, cit., full text. L. Torchia, cit., full text. During the exam, the student will be required to show that he/she knows and understands notions and principles of digital administration law and e-gov principles, as well as the capacity to apply them to practical cases. The student is expected to be demonstrate the ability to independently analyze sources and relevant theories of Digital Administrative Law, to use the appropriate technical and legal vocabulary, thus proving that he/she has acquired the study method and the learning ability for carrying on, also independently, further study of the matter. The following evaluation criteria will be taken into account in order to assign the final grade (expressed in thirtieths): a) knowledge and understanding of the notions and principles of the subject, as well as the ability to apply them to concrete case 65%); b) appropriate use of the technical and legal vocabulary; analysis and evaluation skills of relevant sources; acquisition of the study method (35%). Learning gaps concerning one or more notions, or principles, will lead to an insufficient evaluation, even in presence of a basic knowledge of the matter.

Grade obtained in the subject e originality of the proposed topics.