(1) PRESENTATION OF
THE COURSE
 Prof. Bruno Tassone
 Docente di Principles of Civil Law
 LUISS Guido Carli
TODAY’S ISSUES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Presentation of the teacher;
Objectives
The class program;
Materials to be used;
Exam & assessment method;
Few other issues (comparison &
translation problems).
OBJECTIVES

Knowledge and understanding: The student - by the lectures and practical
activities - will have developed the ability to understand the principles and
categories of Italian Constitutional e Private Law.

Applying knowledge and understanding: The student will be able to apply
those principles and categories to practical cases.
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Making judgements: The student will have acquired problem analysis skills
and the ability to identify the information necessary for their solution,
being able to find it directly or to ask for the counsel a legal specialist.
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Communication skills: The student will be able to use the legal vocabulary,
addressing the legal issues at hand with terminological accuracy.

Learning skills: The technical-legal knowledge acquired during the course
will allow the student to autonomously adapt the principles and categories
to the specific reference context, to continue to deepen the topics
addressed and to undertake the various post-graduate professional training
courses keeping in mind the relationship between law and economics.
THE CLASS PROGRAM (I)
 (Part I) some issues of Public (Constitutional)
Law and (Part II) main areas of Private Law.
 What is Public Law and what is Private Law?
Under Part I (Approximately 1/3 of the Course)
 Legal system, legal rule and source of law
(notion).
 Italian sources of law.
 EU and international sources of law.
 Issues of private international law.
 Main features of the Constitution of Italy and of
the Constitutions of other European Countries.
 Main features of the Italian Constitutional
Bodies and of the Lawmaking Process.
THE CLASS PROGRAM (II)
Under Part II (Approximately 2/3 of the Course)
 Legal capacity.
 Natural persons and entities.
 Ownership, possession and (other) property
interests.
 Security and creditor’s rights protection.
 Obligations and contractual liability.
 Contracts (Notion, Formation, Interpretation,
Representation, Validity, Termination).
 Tort law and compensation for damages.
 Features of inheritance law (on the book only).
 Features of family law (on the book only).
MATERIALS (I)
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Slides (uploaded on the course web page)
Iudica e Zatti, Language and Rules of
Italian Private Law: An Introduction,
Cedam, Padova (selected paper parts – see
file or next slide)
Lena and Mattei (eds.), Introduction to
Italian Law, Kluwer, 2002 (selected PDF
parts – see file or next slide)
Notes on Constitutional Bodies (available
on the course web page)
Italian Constitution in English (available
on the course web page)
MATERIALS (II)
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CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: Chapter 3 of Introduction to Italian Law, ALL,
EXCEPT Paragraph III (A), (B), (C), EXCEPT Paragraph IV (B)
and EXCEPT Paragraphs VII-VIII.
EC SOURCES OF LAW: Chapter 4 of Introduction to Italian Law: ALL,
EXCEPT Paragraph IV (A), (B), (D) and Paragraphs VII-VIII.
JURIDICAL CAPACITY, CAPACITY TO ACT, NATURAL CAPACITY AND LEGAL
ENTITIES: Chapter 4 of Language and Rules of Italian Private Law.
PROPERTY, OWNERSHIP AND POSSESSION: Chapters 5, 8 and 9 of
Language and Rules of Italian Private Law.
OBLIGATIONS: Chapter 10 of Language and Rules of Italian Private Law.
CONTRACTS: Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 19 of Language and
Rules of Italian Private Law.
TORTS: Chapters 21 and 22 of Language and Rules of Italian Private
Law.
FAMILY LAW: Chapter 27 of Language and Rules of Italian Private Law.
INHERITANCE LAW: Chapter 28 of Language and Rules of Italian Private
Law.
EXAM & ASSESSMENT
 Mid-term Examination (Public Law only);
 Written Final Exam (with an Optional Oral
Part – Compulsory Attendance);
 Active participation during the class lesson;
 Group work executed during the course.
COMPARISON AND LANGUAGE
• Teaching
Italian Law in English is a
challenge and an opportunity as well.
• But there are problems to be faced in
every area of the law.
• How do you translate (without going
outside contract law):
1) “contract” (?);
2) “rescission” (?);
3) “unconscionability” (?).