95783 - Roman Foundation of European Law

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide in-depth knowledge of European legal foundations, their origin in Roman law, and their subsequent development in Common law and Civil law. Under this framework, the Roman Law's heritage in modern legal systems will be investigated, working backward in search of the common legal bases on which the harmonization projects in the European law lays on. At the end of the course, students will understand the roots of the European legal traditions, and in particular, they will get the legal rationale of institutions such as contracts and obligations and their differences under various national contexts.

Course contents

Given the specialized nature of the course, the lectures will focus on selected topics deemed particularly useful for illustrating in detail the enduring influence of Roman legal culture on modern and contemporary legal experience, with special attention to methodological aspects and without any claim to exhaustiveness.

The course will concentrate in particular on the Roman categories of public property and their influence on subsequent legal culture, with a focus on their political use at key moments in legal and political history.

The first part of the course will be devoted to illustrating the main mechanisms of evolution in Roman law and the essential features of the subsequent legal traditions (civil law, common law, and mixed legal systems).

The main Roman classifications concerning public property—res publicae, res in usu publico, res communes omnium, and res universitatis—will then be analyzed in both their formative and dynamic dimensions.

In the second part of the course, several historical contexts in which Roman categories of public property were reused to regulate or rationalize new situations arising from practice will be explored in a seminar-style format. Focus areas will include: the conflict between the Republic of Venice and the Empire; the rise of the new "oceanic" powers (England, the Netherlands, and Spain) between the 16th and 17th centuries; the use of Roman public property law in the United States during the 19th century; and more recent developments in the debate during the 20th century.

Special attention will be given to the ideological motivations behind the use of Roman law.

Readings/Bibliography

For attending students studying the slides and notes provided by the lecturer will be sufficient. However, the following readings are recommended:,

For non-attending students, besides the study of the slides uploaded on Virtuale, the study of the following is mandatory:

Reinhard Zimmermann, "Law, Contemporary Law, European Law", Oxford University Press (2001);

Teaching methods

 

Assessment methods

The exam will consist of an oral test covering the entire course syllabus to assess the achievement of the educational objectives, and namely the acquisition, starting from the general principles of law, of the tools for approaching current legal issues, from the perspective of European legislation.

It is possible to agree with the teacher to replace part of the exam with the writing of a paper. Further information will be provided at the beginning of the course. Non-attending students who wish to take advantage of this option are kindly requested to contact the instructor by email in due time, in order to agree on the topic and methodology of the final paper.

The purpose of the oral test is to verify the student's ability to apply their knowledge and to make the necessary logical-deductive connections. The final grade will be determined according to the following criteria:

Preparation on a limited number of topics covered in the course, limited analytical ability, overall correct expression → 18; Preparation on a limited number of topics covered in the course and independent analytical ability only on purely procedural issues, correct expression → 19-23; Preparation on a wide range of topics covered in the course, ability to make autonomous critical analysis choices, mastery of specific terminology → 24-29; Comprehensive preparation on the topics covered in the course, ability to make autonomous critical analysis and connections, full mastery of specific terminology, and capacity for argumentation and self-reflection → 30-30L.

Thesis

The thesis project will be discussed and agreed upon with the course instructor as needed.

Seminars will be organized for graduating students to illustrate the main tools of historical-legal research and their correct use for the thesis writing.

Office hours

See the website of Alvise Schiavon

See the website of Elena Pezzato Heck