19012 - General Procedure Law, Employment and Insolvency Procedure Law

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students should be able to: 1. outline and critique the fundamental principles of the italian trial (including civil, penal and amministrative proceedings), with reference to the labour proceedings and to the bankruptcy procedure; 2. shows adequate knowledge of rules governing civil trial after the reforms enacted from 1990 onwards.

Course contents

A) GENERAL PROCEDURE LAW

1. General principles of the trial

The judicial system -Judicial activity - Independence and impartiality of Judges -  Substantive law and adjective law - Truth and due process - The Constitutional guaranty of trial -  The civil proceedings - Alternative methods of dispute resolution - Hearings in chambers - The criminal proceedings - The administrative proceedings - Enforcement of a judgment.

2. The filing of the claim

 The civil action - Action of first instance requiring adjudication of substanive rights -Complaint  -P rocedures of enforcement - Administrative hearing and trial - Criminal trial.

3. Defence

Systems for conducting a trial - The cooperation between parties and lawyers -The adversarial procedure - Defenses in civil  lawsuit,  criminal and administrative  proceedings  -Time - limits to the proceedings - Non preventive summary judgments - The grounds of judements.

4. The outcome of proceedings

The solution of the case: style and effects of judicial decisions - The preparation of the case at first instance - Type of judgments - Appeals and other challenges to the judgment - The meaning of res judicata.

 5. Law of evidence
 
The rules and legal principles that govern the proof of facts in a legal proceeding - The burden of proof - The most common form of evidence.

B) LABOUR TRIAL

The Labour Court -  Disputes concerning the rights or duties under an employment agreement or under the terms concerning the state of employment  - The service of pleadings -  The plaintiff and the defendant appearing in court - The appeal.

C) BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS
 
 Filing a petition (voluntary or involuntary) to declare a  business or corporate debtor bankrupt - The duties of the trustee in bankruptcy - The process of liquidation - Debt restructuring practices.

Readings/Bibliography

Students have to study the following  3 texts, to purchase in the last available edition:

A) GENERAL PROCEDURE LAW

G.F.RICCI, Principi di diritto processuale generale, Giappichelli, Torino, 5° ed., 2012 (all chapters, except the fifth one)

B) LABOUR TRIAL

P. BIAVATI, Argomenti di diritto processuale civile,  Bononia University Press, 2013 (chapter 4 only, par. 69- 73)

C) BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS

E. FRASCAROLI SANTI, Il diritto fallimentare e delle procedure concorsuali, Cedam, Padova, 2012 (only the subject matter being taught)

Teaching methods

The course programme will be entirely composed of lectures. Course attendance is not compulsory, but it is very much  encouraged. The fundamental nature of the course rely upon student partecipation as an essential method for learning. Course are given into Italian language. Training exercises will be held in the last weeks of the course.

Assessment methods

The final examination will be oral. It's suppose to have already successed in Private law and Constitutional law.

Having attended the lessons is reason of priviledge in graduating by discussing the final thesis with the professor.

The lessons are held in the first semester. Students can take exams in all sessions once the semester lessons included in their
study plan have finished.

Teaching tools

Attending students will be supplied with tecnical schedules, duplicated lecture notes and selected Courts case law.

Office hours

See the website of Brunella Brunelli