Course 2024-2025 a.y.

The course aims at introducing students to the Roman foundations of contemporary civil law system and conducting a historical-comparative analysis of some key institutions.

The following topics will be covered in the course:

• The historical evolution of Roman law and the origin of the Roman law based system (civil law);
• The legacy of the Roman legal tradition and its influence on the contemporary legal systems;
• The historical evolution of some key institutions of the Roman private law.

• have a solid basic legal-historical education, in order to better appreciate the origins of civil law;
• know the main sources of ancient Roman law on which the current civil law system was built;
• know the main institutes of Roman private law;
• know the historical evolution of Roman public law;
• value the importance of Roman law’s experience for the evolution of a modern legal system.

• recognize the historical origins of contemporary legal terminology and the general framework of the civil law system;
• interpret the rules in light of their historical evolution;
• build a legal reasoning that takes into account the origin of the norms;
• understand the genesis and the growth of legal science and institutions;
• acquire an insight into the universal principles of jurisprudence;
• value the importance of Roman law’s experience for the evolution of a modern legal system.

• Lectures
• Collaborative Works / Assignments

The learning experience of this course includes, in addition to face-to-face lectures, the carrying out of group works, during which students will be actively involved in finding and reading the sources that allow the reconstruction of the historical-legal path that led to the development of the so-called civil law systems.

Students, organized in groups, will be asked to write a paper, with the constant guide of the Lecturer, and to discuss it class.

The objective is to understand - through the direct use of legal texts - the role of Roman law in the course of European and Western legal history in general, with particular reference to the civil procedural law and the theme of "fair trial".

Attending students (at least 75% of the Attendance) will be asked to take the exam on the content of the lessons and the materials shared in class. The final exam consists of 30 multiple choice questions (1 point each).

The oral discussion in class allows for the acquisition of additional points: from 0 to 3, depending on the effort demonstrated throughout the entire course, the quality of the work completed, the oral presentation, and the ability to work in a team.

The group work is aimed at evaluating the ability of each student to rework the material studied during the entire semester, and the skills gained in the basic field of historical-legal research, together with the understanding of the historicity of law.

Multiple-choice questions are mainly aimed at testing the learning of the concepts illustrated in the course material and their correct understanding.

Non-attending students will be asked to take the final exam on the contents of the suggested textbooks.

The final exam consists of 2 open ended question (max 4 pts each) and 12 multiple choice questions (2 pts each).

Open-ended and multiple-choice questions are mainly aimed at testing the learning of the concepts illustrated in the course material and their correct understanding, together with the ability to rework the material read and studied, in a personal way. The ability to demonstrate an awareness of the historicity of the legal phenomenon will be particularly appreciated for the final evaluation.

The final exam will be based on the notes taken from the lessons and the material distributed by the instructor.

Readings:

Peter Stein, Roman Law in European History, Cambridge 1999;

Federico Pergami, Roman Foundations of European Law, Milan 2024.

Peter Stein, Roman Law in European History, Cambridge 1999

Paul J. Du Plessis, Borkowski’s Textbook on Roman Law, Oxford 2020;

Federico Pergami, Roman Foundations of European Law, Milan 2024.