The course aims to give students a basic knowledge and understanding of the main characteristics of the Western Legal Tradition and of its circulation, with particular reference to private law. Topics include historical development, sources of law, machinery of justice and methods of dispute resolution, current trends.
For attending students:
a) V. Varano - V. Barsotti, La tradizione giuridica occidentale - Testo e materiali per un confronto civil law – common law, 6th ed., Torino, Giappichelli, 2018, excluding Ch. II, section 4, Ch. IV and all appendices. Namley: pp. 1-44 (Ch. 1), pp. 107-201 (Ch. II), pp. 249-348, (Ch. III), and pp. 501-572 (Ch. V).
b) materials available on the Moodle platform.
For non attending students:
V. Varano - V. Barsotti, La tradizione giuridica occidentale - Testo e materiali per un confronto civil law – common law, 6th ed., Torino, Giappichelli, 2018, appendices excluded. Namely: pp. 1-44 (Ch. 1), pp. 107-201 (Ch. II), pp. 249-348, (Ch. III), pp. 465-489 (Ch. IV) and pp. 501-572 (Ch. V).
Suggested reading for a first approach to law: P. Grossi, Prima lezione di diritto, Roma – Bari, Laterza, 2003.
Learning Objectives
The course aims to provide an introduction to legal comparison, as well as the knowledge of the differences and similarities of the civil law and common law traditions, mainly through the study of the sources of law.
Students will be able to understand and interpret correctly legislative materials, case law and doctrine of a foreign legal system in order to frame and solve legal problems through the comparative method.
Moreover, students will acquire the capacity to understand the differences and similarities characterizing the two Western legal traditions and the awareness of the importance of culture in the shaping of the legal traditions that will enable them to adopt a critical approach to legal categories.
This knowledge, together with a familiarity with different languages and legal concepts, will be useful also in view of a future career in international institutions and in private profit and non-profit organizations.
Prerequisites
None.
Teaching Methods
Classes are taught through lectures, organized in order to promote a constant interaction with the students.
The course syllabus, Power point presentations and other materials will be available to attending students through the Moodle platform.
Further information
In order to attend the course, students shall subscribe to the Moodle platform by the first week of classes.
Type of Assessment
Oral examination consisting of two or three open questions on different parts of the program.
The evaluation is sufficient if all answers are sufficient and there are no serious gaps or mistakes. The evaluation is excellent if all the questions are treated exhaustively, with a critical approach and a correct use of legal language and of the comparative method.
Course program
The course aims to provide an introduction to the main features of the Western Legal Tradition, mainly through the study of the sources of law.
After an introduction on the goals and methods of comparative law, the course will deal with the topic of legal families and then will focus on the two main families within the Western Legal Tradition: civil law and common law. After the study of their formative periods, the course will deal in some detail with such topics as the role of legislation, case law and doctrine as sources of law, legal education and the legal professions, the machinery of justice and methods of dispute resolution, constitutions and judicial review of legislation. The last part of the course is devoted to the study of how the Western Legal Tradition has affected other legal system such as India, China, Japan, Latin America, and Islamic Countries. Throughout the course particular attention will be dedicated to issues raised by the interaction between different legal cultures.
A syllabus with a detailed list of the topics and their distribution in time will be available on the Moodle platform at the beginning of the course.