B026411 - COMPARATIVE LEGAL SYSTEMS

English

The course aims to provide an introduction to the comparative method and its role in contemporary legal education, 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 independently research legislative materials, case law and doctrine of a foreign legal system in order to frame and solve legal problems through the comparative method. In particular, students will be able to identify and select properly the main interpretations of these sources by scholars and courts, considering their different role in the two main legal traditions.
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 rethink critically the traditional categories of their own legal system.
This knowledge, together with a familiarity with different languages and legal concepts, will be useful also in view of a future career in law firms or notaries specialized in international law issues, in international institutions, and in private profit and non-profit organizations.

Introduction to legal comparison and to the role of comparative law in the education of lawyers who intend to operate in a global context. In particular, the students will be exposed to the historical evolution and the main features of the sources of law in the civil law and common law traditions.

Students must have passed the following exams: Private Law (Diritto privato I), Constitutional Law (Diritto costituzionale generale). This requirement does not apply to Erasmus+ students and other exchange students.

Classes are taught mainly through lectures, but also through the discussion of cases and scholarly writings handed out in advance. Students are constantly encouraged to express their opinions and to compare what they already know with the new knowledge acquired through the course.
At the end of each general topic a self-evaluation test is held.
The course syllabus, Power point presentations and other materials handed out during the classes will be available to attending students through the Moodle platform.

Oral examination usually consisting of two or three questions.
The first question deals with a broad topic, in order to allow the student to show her knowledge as well as the ability to connect the different parts of the program using the comparative method.
The second question might be narrower and deals with a different part of the program, in order to check the existence of serious gaps.
The teacher may ask a third question when the previous answers leave a margin of doubt about the evaluation to be assigned, for example because othere is a significant difference in the evaluation of the previous answers.
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. For attending students, also the capacity to make appropriate reference to the relevant materials will be evaluated positively.

The first part of the course aims at offering to the students an introduction to legal comparison, to its nature and goals, to the role of comparative law in the education of lawyers who intend to operate in a global context.
In the second part of the course, the students will be exposed to the historical evolution and the main features of the common law and civil traditions. The analysis will touch upon some issues which show how the two great Western legal traditions are gradually converging. Besides their formative period, the course will deal in some detail with such topics as legal education, the legal professions, courts and procedure, constitutions and judicial review of legislation, the role of legislation, case law and doctrine as sources of law.
The last part of the course, dedicated only to the students attending the 9 CFU 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.

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.

For students regularly attending classes, the exam will be based on class notes and on the materials that will be available through Moodle.

Students who do not attend classes should prepare for the exam using the following materials:
a) for the 6 CFU course (Scienze dei Servizi Giuridici)
- M.A. Glendon, P.G. Carozza, C.B. Picker, Comparative Legal Traditions: Text, Materials and Cases on Western Law, 4th ed., St. Paul, MN: West, 2014, pp. 1-55, 65-91, 97-116, 129-131, 148-152, 181-184, 201-202, 210-225, 229-241, 270-278, 278-285, 291-295, 301-309, 315-321, 387-409, 443-446, 461-467, 474-481, 493-498, 507-511, 523-524, 530-536, 566-573, 579-595, 601-602-645-650, 655-662, 665-666, 675-681, 702-725, 739;
- David S. Clark, T. Ansay (eds.), Introduction to the Law of the United States, 2nd ed., The Hague [etc.], Kluwer Law International, 2002, pp. 1-88;
b) For the 9 CFU course (Laurea magistrale), in addition to the materials under letter a)
M. Bussani, U. Mattei (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Comparative Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2012, pp. 257-276, 294-311, 344-365.

In order to attend the course, students shall subscribe to the Moodle platform by the first week of classes.