The objective of the course will be knowledge of the Law of the Vatican City State and the positioning of that entity within the international order.

The Vatican State represents a paradigmatic case of the inclusion of secular law within a religion-based legal system. In order to understand these phenomena of ‘inclusion’, the main theoretical notions concerning Vatican law will be provided, emphasising its peculiarities with respect to both the canonical legal system and other secular legal systems. The main notions of the international legal personality of the Holy See and its role in international relations will be provided.

The student will thus be able to assess the peculiarities of the legal system of the Vatican State and the incompleteness of the phenomenon of legal secularization.