ARCHIVE OF LAW AND PLURALISM

Pluralism is one of the most controversial issues of contemporary societies. These stand at the crossroads of identity conflicts, also in light of the increasing mobility of individuals and the several migratory flows. 

On the one hand, a plural society conveys the idea of ​​diversity, from an ethnic, cultural, religious and political point of view; on the other hand, it aims at fostering unity while respecting diversities.

From a legal perspective, pluralism raises a series of questions: how to reconcile tensions fueled by identity conflicts? Which are the institutional actors tasked with the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in a pluralist legal order? What is the role played by national and supranational courts in balancing the various interests involved?

To answer these questions, the School of Law of the University Milano-Bicocca, within the Departmental Study Centre for Law and Pluralism (BiLap), has established, thanks to the ministerial funding obtained as a department of excellence, an observatory that aims to monitor the legal trends and developments taking place in pluralistic societies. In particular, the Observatory has a Database, which collects and catalogues the most relevant jurisprudential sources in the matter.

In this respect, the Database collects firstly the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union, and, secondly, the decisions issued by national constitutional and supreme courts. These resources, which are made freely available to the scientific community and civil society, provide a useful tool for the promotion of policies and practices of civil coexistence, social inclusion and intercultural dialogue.