17252 - Law Laboratory (CL2)

Learning outcomes

The workshop introduces the students to the interpretation and comprehension of the contracts, with a particular focus to commercial contracts. The goal of the workshop is to make the student able to trace back by the contractual document, once selected and analysed in its linguistic peculiarity, to the fundamental institutes of the general law of the contracts and to the specificity of commercial contracts. The expected outcome is that the student will acquire skills in terms of comprehension of the legal meaning and of the practical effects of contractual provision in the context of the economic transaction underlying the contractual type and in the frame of different and possible scenarios of the commercial relation that the analysed contractual model intends to regulate.

Course contents

Reading, analysis and commentary of the contractual models widespread in the commercial practice and/or drawn up by organizations and companies.

Every year one or more contractual models among those prevalent in the commercial practice (sale, distribution, franchising, agency, carriage, collateral agreement, assignment of claims, factoring, forfaiting, and other financing contracts, documentary credit operations, insurance, etc…) will be selected.

During the first classes students will be guided in the comprehension and analysis of the selected contractual models, by considering the theoretical framework of the contract and its potential contents with respect to the economic transaction that it intends to govern. Students, in particular, will be guided to selecte a legal-technical glossary and to understand the legal meaning of the contractual wording.

Through the performance of simulations, students will be, then, led to the elaboration of solutions (in a preventive way) of conflicts on the basis both of the analysed contractual models and case law.

Readings/Bibliography

F. GALGANO, Istituzioni di diritto privato, Cedam, Padova, ed. VIII, 2017;

A. RILEY, Legal English and the Common law, Cedam, Padova, ed. III, 2015.

Teaching methods

Workshop meetings including face-to-face lectures and simulations. During these exercise sessions students will be divided into working groups with respect to the different parts of the contracts that have been analysed. Each working group will have to develop, in relation to the specific problematic scenarios, also inspired by case law, and considering the contractual contents, tailored response strategies to the counterpart.

The language of the workshop will be Italian. It is however necessary the knowledge of English for the comprehension of some contractual models and for the selection of the bilingual contractual glossary.

Assessment methods

The attendance to the worksop is compulsory. It will be admitted one single absence. It is also compulsory the involvement of all the students to the working groups and to the exercise sessions. The final evaluation will be based on the quality of input to the debates and simulations.

Teaching tools

Slides, databases of case law, contractual models.

Office hours

See the website of Chiara Alvisi