International projects

Funding source - European Commission

Scientific Coordinator - Prof. Serena Forlati

EJNIta 2.0 is funded by the European Union  in the framework of the Justice Programme (Just – 2022- JCOO] — [iCall for proposals for action grants to promote judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters]); it is led by the Italian Ministry of Justice and involves several academic and institutional partners. The project stems from the positive experience named “EJN - Italian network: Building Bridges”, the first project led by the Italian Ministry of Justice aimed at supporting and strengthening the national European Judicial Network, mainly creating a new digital tool, the web portal Aldricus, in order to enhance the ability of the Italian national contact points to effectively perform their tasks, vis-à- vis both Italian authorities and practitioners, and members of the Network in other Member States. Several training and dissemination activities are carried out in order to spread information and to strengthen the relationships created, which can make judicial cooperation really effective. Furthermore, the project has given the opportunities to the main actors of the Network - mainly Public Authorities - to build a new institutional frame for their cooperation, creating relationships and new means to handle cross borders cases, exchanging information via digital and secure new strong “bridges”.  The Project will be further developed in 2025-2027 thanks to new funding.

Funding source - European Commission

Scientific Coordinator - Prof. Jacopo Alberti

A famous Latin motto claims that "verba volant, scripta manent" ("what is said flies away while what is written remains"). Accordingly, in the Western legal tradition it is used to say that what is not provided in official documents has no legal value. Does it hold true in the current global scenario?

Some recent events might suggest that such a claim is not completely valid anymore. From the ECB President Mario Draghi's famous «whatever it takes», that brought to the Court of Justice's Gauweiler judgment; from the EU-Turkey so called 'Agreement' and the subsequent NF case: unwritten sources are more and more deeply impacting the EU legal order and its subjects. 

Against this backdrop, the Jean Monnet Chair "Verba volant, sed imperant? The Legal challenges of EU Communication" aims at mapping the growing influence of EU communication, at discussing its theoretical foundation and its impact on the EU institutional balance, as well as assessing whether and to what extent the existing legal remedies are capable to tackle the consequences of this phenomenon on the rights of individuals.

To this end, the Jean Monnet Chair will organise several research initiatives (conferences, workshop, Young Researchers' Platform), institutional events (roundtables and networks between EU institutions and academia), teaching activities (from high-school to PhD students) as well as public events for disseminating its studies to the general public.

For further info - Jean Monnet Chair

Funding source - European Commission

Scientific Coordinator - Prof. Jacopo Alberti

Jean Monnet “EU Specialized judicial protection” module aims at creating an innovative observatory on the protection of EU rights in highly specialized policy fields, focusing in particular on the judicial activities of the EU agencies’ Boards of Appeal.

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Funding source - Co-funded by the Training of National Judges Programme of the European Union

Scientific Coordinator - Prof. Jacopo Alberti

COMP.EU.TER is a project co-funded by the European Commission, led by the University of Turin and carried out in collaboration with the Universities of Genoa and Milan (as Beneficiaries) as well as by the Universities of Antwerp, Ferrara, KIMEP, Rotterdam, Warsaw and Zaragoza (as Associated Partners).
COMP.EU.TER offers a combined, progressive and multilateral training programme targeted at EU national judges focused on the specific functions and powers of national courts in tackling new forms of competitive concerns arising from (and peculiar to) the so-called big data revolution.
COMP.EU.TER comprises the following actions:
- 6 seminars mainly targeted at Italian judges intended to offer them an in-depth knowledge of the most important issues arising from the need to adapt EU competition rules to the digital environment and new technologies (e.g. algorithms) and phenomena (e.g. data accumulation;
- the organization of lectures mainly targeted at an audience of Italian apprentice judges (i.e., law graduates attending the relevant apprenticeship school) aimed at providing them a general introduction to EU competition law and a concise overview of problems raised by the application of EU competition law rules to digital markets;
- the development of an online platform dedicated to the Project and hosting learning materials;
- a one-day international final conference with high-profile international speakers, addressed mainly to an audience of national judges from several Member States on the topic of “Public and Private Enforcement of EU Competition Law in the Age of Big Data”.

Funding source: Co-funded by European Commission - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV-2024-CITIZENS-REM) - European remembrance

Scientific Coordinator: Prof. Orsetta Giolo

https://weframeproject.eu/ 

Funding source: European Commission

Scientific Coordinator: Prof. Serena Forlati

Following the achievements of EJNITA and EJNITA 2.0, the overarching goal of EJNITA 3.0 is to elevate the Italian dimension within the European Judicial Network ("EJN-ita"), spreading knowledge and tools in all national territory thus having on board a new partner into the Consortium, reflecting all stakeholders daily involved in the implementation of EU instruments of civil judicial cooperation (attorneys, notaries, bailiffs, civil registrars, national authorities). Italian authorities and practitioners still experience difficulties in interpreting and applying such instruments and many of them still have no clear ideas of the potentiality of the EJN and the e-Justice Portal.

EJNITA 3.0 aims thus at achieving the following objectives:

1.Disseminating the Aldricus (https://aldricus.giustizia.it/) and the e-Justice Portals, to allow courts and practitioners to make full use of such essential digital tools, to better handle cross-border civil cases.

2.Organizing (including on-demand) training sessions tailored for judges, and all target groups (in order to reach a better specialized knowledge on EU legislation, and to enhance the effective and coherent application of EU acquis by Courts and national authorities.

3.Strengthening support for EJN Contact Points, Central Authorities, practitioners, and authorities in issue identification and facilitation of communication channels, being the Consortium experts at disposal to give advice and information to better handle EJN requests.

4.Encouraging the full participation of all EJN national members, in order to increase the contribution to the EU Network’s activities (mainly to its meetings).

These initiatives collectively aim to reinforce the Italian dimension of the European Judicial Network - and of the EU Network as a whole - and foster greater synergy among stakeholders, ultimately contributing to a more coherent and effective application of the EU acquis.

Funding source: European Commission

Scientific Coordinator: Prof. Donato Castronuovo

The project aims to position the Centre for European Legal Studies on Macro-Crime of the University of Ferrara as a leading knowledge hub in Europe for legal expertise on macro-criminality.

KEY OBJECTIVES
- Conduct in-depth research on the EU legal and institutional framework devoted to the fight against macro-criminality;
- Develop transnational research, teaching and outreach activities, with direct involvement of foreign scholars, students and professionals, and in cooperation with foreign research institutions;
- Provide academic insights and expert analyses that can inform policy-making at domestic and EU level, boosting law enforcement and judicial cooperation to combat serious criminal phenomena;
- Foster dialogue between the academic community, legal and non-legal professionals, civil servants, members of NGOs and EU institutions on the EU legal and institutional tools to counter macro-criminality.

METHODOLOGY
4 thematic groups (“Mafias in Europe. Counter Policies and Countermeasures”; “Corruption and Transparency in the EU”; “EU and Core Crimes”; “Remote Criminal Justice and New Technologies: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Fundamental Rights”) will perform specific research tasks, organise events and produce deliverables.
Internal staff seminars will foster synergies among the different groups. The project manager and steering committee will ensure coordination, while a scientific committee will provide external guidance and supervision.

KEY OUTPUTS
- Teaching Programs: 3 summer schools, 2 students workshops, 1 cycle of seminars, 1 MOOC.
- Scientific Events: 2 conferences, 2 international webinars, 1 joint transnational workshop, 1 methodological seminar, 8 internal seminars.
- Publications: 3 collective volumes.

IMPACT AND DISSEMINATION
The project aims to engage a diverse audience via targeted outreach, intending to directly involve 765 individuals, 145 from outside Italy. A strong digital strategy will also expand reach to another 1080 people.