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Course 2018-2019 a.y.

30428 - INTRODUCTION TO THE LEGAL SYSTEM - MODULE 1

All Programs
Department of Law

Course taught in English

Go to class group/s: 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 21 - 22

BIEF (6 credits - II sem. - OBBC  |  IUS/01) - BIEM (6 credits - II sem. - OBBC  |  IUS/01)
Course Director:
PIETRO SIRENA

Classes: 15 (II sem.) - 16 (II sem.) - 17 (II sem.) - 18 (II sem.) - 21 (II sem.) - 22 (II sem.)
Instructors:
Class 15: FRANCESCO PAOLO PATTI, Class 16: FRANCESCA BARTOLINI, Class 17: FABIO SAGUATO, Class 18: FEDERICO MOTTOLA LUCANO, Class 21: FRANCESCO MEZZANOTTE, Class 22: FRANCESCO PAOLO PATTI


Class-group lessons delivered  on campus

Mission & Content Summary
MISSION

The course provides a general introduction to the study of law, starting with the basic concepts of jurisprudence. The expected goal thereof is that students become acquainted with the economic and political dimension of law, understanding it as the level playing field of any social relation, both at the domestic and the international level. Particularly, the course deals with some of the essential rules applicable to economic activities, focusing on the interaction between party autonomy and market regulation in business transactions. The expected goal thereof is that students learn to tackle and discuss legal problems and have a good command of terminology of private law. The course adopts an international perspective and highlights the main differences between civil law and common law jurisdictions in the context of the Western legal tradition. The aim is to provide a guidance on issues that assume relevance in the context of international relationships, in which the applicable law can crucially influence the economic outcome of a transaction. On this regard, also European Private Law is taken into consideration with a specific focus on rules aiming to detect biases of consumers. In the final part of the course, small groups of attending students are given an assignment. The expected goal thereof is to drill students in the drafting of contracts and legal opinions.

CONTENT SUMMARY

General part:

  • Law and economics.
  • Law and the state.
  • National and international (private) law.
  • Rules, principles, (families of) legal systems.
  • Civil law and common law.
  • European law.
  • Private and public law.
  • Sources of law.
  • Soft law and trends of supranational law: principles of European Contract law (PECL), Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR), UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (PICC).

Special part:

  • Natural persons and legal entities.
  • Contracts.
  • Consumer protection.
  • Torts and unjustified enrichment.
  • Property.
  • Remedies and settling of disputes.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Recognize the basic principles and rules applicable to the most important branches of private law.
  • Identify the main differences between civil law and common law in the areas of contract, tort and property law.
  • Discuss the relevant issues related to international contracts and alternative dispute resolutions.
  • Explain the impact that legal rules can produce in the market and their influence on the behavior of businesses and consumers.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Use the terminology pertaining to private law both in the civil law and in the common law legal tradition.
  • Appraise and critique juridical solutions and judgments from a social and economic point of view.
  • Demonstrate organizational and teamwork abilities as well as presentation and communication skills.

Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face lectures
  • Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
  • Exercises (exercises, database, software etc.)
  • Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
  • Group assignments
  • Interactive class activities (role playing, business game, simulation, online forum, instant polls)
DETAILS

The subjects of the course is addressed through a cooperative dialogue between teachers and students, consisting in asking and answering questions and participating in a discussion. Students learn to tackle legal problems by using a correct terminology and expressing critical reasoning, based on juridical arguments and economic analysis of law. The classes get started with the analysis of real-life cases, selected from civil law and common law precedents. B-clickers are used for instant polls. The active participation in classes are considered for the overall student assessment. The learning experience of the course includes a ‘Legal advice competition’, carried out through a group assignment. A preliminary class is held by a guest speaker, who illustrate a case. Students are divided in small groups of four/five and have the task of submitting a legal advice and a power-point presentation that summarize their main findings. The legal advices and the power-point presentations is used for student assessment as well as a basis for further discussions of the case in class.


Assessment methods
  Continuous assessment Partial exams General exam
  • Written individual exam (traditional/online)
  •   x x
  • Group assignment (report, exercise, presentation, project work etc.)
  • x    
  • Active class participation (virtual, attendance)
  • x    
    ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
    • Attending and non-attending students must take two partial exams (the first is partial, the other final), each of them consisting of 27 multiple choice questions and 2 open ended questions. The candidates are requested to give the one most appropriate answer, which corresponds to 1/30 for each multiple choice question and up to 2/30 for each open ended question. No penalty is foreseen for wrong or incomplete answers. The registered grade is the average between the marks of the two written tests. For students who actively participate in classes, including group assignments, the average is increased up to 3/30.
    • Students failing to pass either of the two partial exams have to take a general exam, consisting of 27 multiple choice questions and 2 open ended questions. The candidates are requested to give the one most appropriate answer, which corresponds to 1/30 for each multiple choice question and up to 2/30 for each open ended question. No penalty is foreseen for wrong or incomplete answers.
    • For attending students, questions deal with the textbook, as well as with the teaching material uploaded in the e-learning area and discussed in class. 
    • For non-attending students, questions deal with the textbook.

    Teaching materials
    ATTENDING STUDENTS

    Selected chapters of

    •  P. SIRENA, Introduction to the Legal System, to be published in 2019.

    Materials are delivered during classes and made available in the e-learning area of the Bocconi portal. Lectures are recommended .

    NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
    • P. SIRENA, Introduction to the Legal System, to be published in 2019.

    Alternatively,

    • G. IUDICA, P. ZATTI (ed. by A. SCARSO), Language and Rules of Italian private Law. An Introduction, Padua, latest edition.
    Last change 03/06/2018 19:36