La vicenda dei corsi “solo in inglese” al Politecnico di Milano, fra problematiche giuridiche e problematiche socio-economiche

Starting from a very controversial decision taken in 2012 by the academic Senate of the Milan Polytechnic, the paper analyses the controversial legal issue of courses taught "only in English" as a tool to internationalise Italian universities. The principal aim of the paper is to explain and clarify the legal dispute which led to the sentence of the Constitutional Court n. 42/2017: a milestone in the definition of how (and to what extent) it is, from now on, possible to teach "only in English" in Italian universities. Though the dispute is examined essentially form the law point of view, the paper contains also essential reference to further, “cultural issues” in its conclusive remarks.