Login
Student authentication

Is it the first time you are entering this system?
Use the following link to activate your id and create your password.
»  Create / Recover Password

Syllabus

EN IT

Prerequisites

To understand the contents of the lessons and achieve the educational objectives, it is important that before starting the course the student has an adequate basic knowledge of legal, social and economic dynamics, in particular for what concern the difference between public and private law and the traditional sources of law. Ability to a critical approach. Aptitude for teamwork and knowledge sharing.

Program

(Week #1)
I- Introduction:
1. Social norm
2. Factors of Difference/Similarity between legal systems
3. Anthropology and Sociology of Law
4. Legal Data/Metalegal Data
(Week #2)
II- Legal Language
III. Theories on Legal Transplants (Watson, Legrand, Siems, Galindo)
IV. Comparative Law Methodology
1. Civil Law Tradition and its History
2. Common Law Tradition and its History
(Week #3)
3. Sacco’s Theory on Legal Formants
4. Mattei’s Taxonomy
V. Introduction on Contract Law (Notion of Contract, Juridical Acts and Contracts, Sacco’s example on contract law)
VI. Who creates Uniform Private Law: How and Why do it
(Week #4)
1. European Union
1.1 EU and the Harmonization of the Internal Market
1.2 Regulatory Differentiation in the Internal Market
1.3 EU as International Player
1.4 Instruments of EU external Action
2. Council of Europe
3. Mercosur
4. OHADA
5. UNCITRAL (CISG and CESL)
6. UNIDROIT (PICC)
(Week #5)
7. Global Rules and Private Actors (New Lex Mercatoria, ECB and ISDA)
8. The Doctrinal Formant as Producer of UPL
8.1. Lando’s Commission (PECL)
8.2. NCCUSL and ALI (Uniform Commercial Code and Restatement)
9. The Judicial Formant as Producer of UPL
9.1. The European Court of Justice
9.2. The National Judge as EU Judge
9.3 The International Arbitration
(Week #6)
VII. Uniform Substantial Law:
1. Consumer Law
2. General Principles in Transnational Instruments
IX. Conflict of laws
1. Alternative among Replacement/Opt-in/Opt-out Approach
2. Application of the Choice of Law Rules

Books

Vincenzo Zeno-Zencovich, Comparative Legal Systems, Roma TrE-Press, 2017 (Chapters 7, 8, 9); Katharina Boele-Woelki, Unifying and Harmonizing Substantive Law and the Role of Conflict of Laws, Hague Academy of International Law, Leiden, 2010 (Chapters 1 to 9); Pietro Sirena, Introduction to Private Law, Il Mulino, 2019 (Chapter 3, 4, 7, 8, 10); Rodolfo Sacco, Legal Formants: A Dynamic Approach to Comparative Law, in The American Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 39, 1991, 1-34 and 343-401 (except p. 358-384); Ugo Mattei, Three Pattern of Law, Taxonomy and Change in the World’s Legal System, ibid, Vol. 45, 1997, 5-44

Bibliography

Hugh Beale et al., Contract Law, 2nd ed., Oxford, 2010, p. 3-30, and 77-86; Tadas Klimas, Comparative Contract Law, Durham (north Carolina), 2006, p. 1-18; Alain Levasseur, Comparative Law of Contract. Cases and Materials, Durham (North Carolina), 2008, p. 1-26; Ewan McKendrick, Contract Law, 7th ed., Oxford, 2016, p. 3-15; Scherer/Palazzo/Baumann, Global Rules and Private Actors: Toward a New Role of the Transnational Corporation in Global Governance, in Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 16, 4, 2006, p. 505-524; John W. Cairns, Watson, Walton, and the History of Legal Transplants, in Ga. J. Int’L & Comp. L., vol. 41, 2013, p. 637-696; Alan Watson, Legal Transplants and European Private Law, in Ius Commune Lectures on European Private Law, 2, 2000, p. 1-11; Pierre Legrand, The Impossibility of ‘Legal Transplants’, in Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, vol. 4, 1997, p. 111-124; Mathias Siems, Malicious Legal Transplants, in Legal Studies, vol. 38, 2018, p. 103-119; 17) Bart Van Vooren/Ramses A. Wessel, EU External Relations Law, Cambridge, 2014, p. 1-18, 34-54; Isidora Maletic, The Law and Policy of Harmonisation in Europe’s Internal Market, Cheltenham, 2013, p. 6-27, 68-89; 19) Michal Bobek, Of Feasibility and Silent Elephants: The Legitimacy of the Court of Justice through the Eyes of National Courts, in Judging Europe’s Judges ed. by Adams/de Waele/ Meeusen/Straetmans, Oxford, 2013, p. 197-234; Nial Fennelly, The National Judge as Judge of the European Union, in The Court of Justice and the Construction of Europe, The Hague, 2013, p. 61-78; Ole Lando, CISG and CESL: Simplicity, Fairness and Social Justice, in English and European Perspectives on Contract and Commercial Law. Essays in Honour of Huge Beale, edited by L. Gullifer and S. Vogenauer, 2014, 237-249; Stefan Vogenauer, ‘General Principles’ of Contract Law in Transnational Instruments, ibid, 291-318; Gilles Cuniberti, Conflict of Laws. A Comparative Approach, Cheltenham, 2017, p. 112-131.

Teaching methods

The course is organized with 2 (academic) hours classes in frontal and interactive mode (the students will be required participate actively in the class discussions and group work).

Exam Rules

The written exam is the same for attending and non-attending students and evaluates the overall preparation of the student, the ability to integrate the knowledge of the different parts of the program, the consequentiality of the reasoning, the analytical ability and the autonomy of judgment.
The exam includes a written exam (compulsory). The written exam (90') concerns two/three open-ended questions, each requiring the student to provide his/her so reasoned and elaborated as possible written answer about topics and issues covered during the class. Consistency of the reasoning, clarity of presentation and correctness of the legal language will be evaluated, in compliance with the Dublin descriptors (1. Knowledge and understanding) 2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding; 3. Making judgments; 4. Learning skills; 5: Communication skills. The result of the written exam is the sum of the points in all the parts on a 30-points scale (where the minimum passing grade is 18).
Exam grades can be raised/lowered by 2 extra points if attending students choose to participate in a group project. The project evaluation concerns developing, drafting and presenting a legal topics in team (3-5 persons each team) in order to practice and demonstrate their (written and oral) communication skills in the area of uniform private law. The project evaluation would add or subtract up to 2 points to the result of the written exam.
The exam will be assessed according to the following criteria:
Not suitable: important deficiencies and / or inaccuracies in the knowledge and understanding of the topics; limited capacity for analysis and synthesis, frequent generalizations and limited critical and judgment skills, the arguments are presented in an inconsistent way and with inappropriate language;
18-20: just sufficient knowledge and understanding of the topics with possible generalizations and imperfections; sufficient capacity for analysis, synthesis and autonomy of judgment, the topics are exposed in an inconsistent way and with inappropriate / technical language;
21-23: Routine knowledge and understanding of topics; Ability to correct analysis and synthesis with sufficiently coherent logical argument and appropriate / technical language
24-26: Fair knowledge and understanding of the topics; good analysis and synthesis skills with rigorously expressed arguments but with a language that is not always appropriate / technical.
27-29: Complete knowledge and understanding of the topics; remarkable abilities of analysis and synthesis. Good autonomy of judgment. Topics exposed rigorously and with appropriate / technical language
30-30L: Excellent level of knowledge and in-depth understanding of the topics. Excellent skills of analysis, synthesis and autonomy of judgment. Arguments expressed in an original way and with appropriate technical language.