On April 4th, from 10 am to 1 pm, the Pessina classroom of the University of Naples Federico II (C.so Umberto I, 40) will host the study meeting "The Sovereign Empire of Laws: From Filangieri to Present Times", celebrating the 250th anniversary of the publication of "Political Reflections on the Last Law of the Sovereign" (Naples, 1774), a work in which the Neapolitan Enlightenment thinker Gaetano Filangieri expressed some very timely considerations on the theme of the rule of law.
The event will open with institutional greetings from Sandro Staiano, Director of the Department of Law of the University Federico II, Maura Striano, Councilor for Education and Families of the Municipality of Naples, Antonio Giordano, Board Member of the National Italian American Foundation and President of the Sbarro Health Research Organization, Costanzo Jannotti Pecci, President of the Union of Industrialists of Naples, Benedetto Migliaccio, President of the Filangieri Academy Della Porta, Riccardo Imperiali di Francavilla, Representative of the heirs of Gaetano Filangieri at the Civic Museum Filangieri, Fabio Ferraro, Director of the Advanced Course in European Union Law at the University Federico II.
The discussion will be moderated by Amedeo Arena, full professor of European Union law at the Federico II University and creator of the Filangieri Prize for young jurists, and will see the participation of distinguished speakers from the academic world and legal professions.
Francesca De Rosa, professor of history of justice at the University Federico II, will focus on the centrality of the law in the "nation" of Naples, highlighting how Filangieri laid the foundations for a new approach to the relationship between law and power. Francesco De Santis, professor of civil procedural law, will analyze the subjection of the judge to the law, showing the evolution of this principle from Filangieri to the present day.
Raffaele Sabato, judge at the European Court of Human Rights, will discuss the obligation to motivate judicial decisions, drawing a direct line between eighteenth-century reflections and current practices. Michela Troisi, professor of constitutional procedural law, will explore the genesis of the constitutional legitimacy review in Italy, highlighting how the insights of Filangieri and Mario Pagano are at the basis of a central procedure in the Italian constitutional architecture.
Finally, Gian Marco Antonelli, notary and member of the Public Law Studies Commission of the National Council of Notaries, will examine the challenges to the rule of law principle posed by the implementation of European anti-money laundering legislation, connecting the current debate on legality and justice to issues dear to Filangieri.
The event will culminate with the awarding of the Filangieri Prize for young jurists, awarded annually to recent graduates in legal subjects who, through their thesis work, have best managed to project Filangieri's cosmopolitan thought into contemporaneity. The winners will be selected by a committee composed of Prof. Amedeo Arena, lawyer Riccardo Imperiali di Francavilla, and judge Raffaele Sabato. On this occasion, the names of the new honorary members of the Filangieri Academy will also be announced, individuals who through their works and writings have contributed to the study, dissemination, or concrete implementation of the Enlightenment ideals advocated by Gaetano Filangieri.
For further information and to confirm attendance, it is possible to contact the email address PremioFilangieri2020@gmail.com.
Professor Antonio Giordano, M.D., Ph.D., is the creator and head of the Sbarro Health Research Organization, located at Temple University's College of Science and Technology in Philadelphia. Stay connected with him through his various social media platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, to receive the latest updates.