OVERVIEW

The course examines, from a comparative perspective, the institutions of general patrimonial private law and their possible modification — legislative or applicative — in the presence of a family relationship (marriage, civil union, de facto cohabitation). Systematic comparison with French and German law allows the course to test its central thesis: both in Italian law and in the foreign legal systems analysed, within patrimonial private law one can identify a special microsystem with its own rules, logic and rationes, often derogating from ordinary private law.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Personal and property relations in the family context and generally in couples of the European Union countries and the United States; jurisprudential and normative data.

The course aims to provide students with an in-depth understanding of family patrimonial law institutions from a systematic and comparative perspective, with particular reference to Italian, French and German law. The objective is to train legal professionals capable of developing a rigorous scientific knowledge enabling them to identify, in the presence of family interests, derogations from the general principles of patrimonial private law, to assess their systematic coherence, and to compare the solutions adopted by different legal systems.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the knowledge of the main issues concerning Italian and foreign family law, trying to provide them with the tools to correctly understand foreign legal systems. The course will help students in their training as professionals who work in a complex reality. A new reality that is characterized by the ongoing confrontation between different legal cultures and by the demands of harmonization of laws and legal traditions. The course will promote a critical approach on the issues that were addressed in foreign legal traditions.

At the end of the lessons, students will have acquired a basic knowledge of the main institutions and will be able to read and understand the sources of law (even in a foreign language) and to grasp the proper interactions between national and supranational sources of law. Thanks to in-depth studies and to case law analysis students will acquire the ability to research sources and to understand and use foreign law materials. Also, students will gain a basic knowledge on main research patterns and tools, like legal database, in order to update by themselves their knowledge in the comparative field.

In particular, thanks to their participation in the planned teaching activities, by the end of the course students will be able to: communicate effectively in written and oral form, adapting their communication to the context and using various sources and aids to this end. They will have developed critical thinking, as well as the ability to use, process and evaluate information, finally improving their argumentative skills (functional literacy). They will have developed the ability to identify their own abilities; they will have acquired the ability to concentrate and reflect critically on a task; they will be able to handle complexity; they will be autonomous in making decisions and carrying out tasks; they will be able to seek support if necessary and be resilient as well as being able to handle stress (personal competence). They will also have developed social competence, i.e. the ability to manage their own social interactions with a collaborative attitude, with constructive communication in different environments; the ability to respect others and their needs, willingness to overcome prejudices, to express and understand different points of view, conflict management, the ability to build trust, empathy. Finally, they will also be able to learn how to learn, they will therefore have awareness of their own learning strategies, organisation and evaluation of personal learning according to what they have understood and learned, understanding of their own needs and ways of developing skills, ability to identify and pursue learning objectives. Students may acquire the following open badges: PRO3, Soft Skills, Advanced Literacy, Advanced Personal, Advanced Social, Advanced Learning to Learn.

The topics covered during the lessons, in particular gender equality issues and the enhancement of cultural diversity, contribute to the realisation of Goals 4 (Quality Education) and 5 (Gender Equality) of the 2030 Agenda.

ATTENDING STUDENTS:

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• describe how patrimonial private law institutions operate within the family context (matrimonial property regime, administration of community assets, voidability of acts, patrimonial liability, agency, gratuitous acts, possession), highlighting the derogations from ordinary private law;
• classify and compare the solutions adopted by Italian, French and German law, with direct reference to the relevant statutory sources (arts. 177 ff. Italian Civil Code; arts. 1401 ff., 215, 220 Code civil; §§ 1357, 1365, 1369 BGB) and case law;
• critically assess the systematic coherence of the solutions examined, identifying the axiological rationes that justify derogations from general principles in family contexts;
• recognise the judicial extension to cohabitees of protections originally reserved for spouses;
• present and argue, in a critical and technically precise manner, the comparative solutions examined, including reference to the French and German legal terminology of the institutions covered.

PREREQUISITES

Knowledge of at least one of the following languages: English, French, German.

Knowledge of the comparative method

N.B. please, check all the pre-requisites exames on the Manifesto

FOR ALL STUDENTS: Basic knowledge of private law and comparative legal methodology (courses in Fundamentals of Private Law and Comparative Private Law, whose prerequisite requirements are already set out in the Programme Regulations).

TEACHING METHODS

Teaching is carried out by means of lectures, also with the use of multimedia supports (videos and the Mentimeter platform), seminars held by lecturers from other universities, specialists in the subject matter and in-depth studies by students. To this end, various teaching methods will be used during the lessons to acquire transversal skills such as the Flipped classroom and Team Based Learning, a structured method of innovative teaching, which alternates individual and group work phases and encourages the development of skills such as problem solving and team working. Training tests (via Aulaweb quizzes and Wooclap) will also be offered througout the year.

Students may acquire the following open badges: PRO3, Soft Skills, Advanced Literacy, Advanced Personal, Advanced Social, Advanced Learning to Learn.

Students with valid certifications for Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), disabilities or other educational needs are invited to contact the teacher and the Department's disability liaison officer at the beginning of the course to agree on any teaching methods that, in accordance with the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning styles.

Lectures. Statutory and case-law sources in their original language (Italian, French, German) are analysed directly in class and available in print editions of the civil codes (Italian Civil Code, Code civil, BGB) and online.

Attending students are not required to purchase any textbook. Students with disabilities or specific learning disorders are invited to contact the lecturer and the Departmental disability officer at the start of the course.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course deals in a comparative approach with some of the great changes in family law, including, for instance, the evolution of the institution of marriage, which has undergone a complete overhaul in recent years; part of the lectures are devoted to the legal regulation of unions between persons of the same sex, to the delicate issue of filiation, with particular attention to the recognition of the status filiationis read in the light of the principle of the child's best interest. An in-depth study from a comparative perspective will focus on the transmission of surnames to sons and daughters, an issue closely linked to the principle of equality between spouses. Part of the lectures will also be devoted to cross-cultural issues related to the family sphere and concerning questions involving law, religion and culture, such as the Islamic kafalah or the Islamic veil. In the context of equality, the rights of transsexual and intersexual persons will also be addressed. Individual lectures will be given both by fellow lecturers from other universities and by lawyers who are scholars and specialists in the specific issues (e.g. Islamic law). 

ATTENDING STUDENTS:

Introductory module: comparative family law — historical and methodological background.

Part I — Matrimonial community as a sui generis form of co-ownership

• Diversity of the legal matrimonial community (comunione legale) from the ordinary co-ownership; Germanic origin (Gesamte Hand); comparison with the French communauté (arts. 1401 ff. Code civil) and the indivision; inclusion of credit rights (art. 177(c) Italian CC).

Part II — Administration of community assets

• Derogations from ordinary private law and their judicial distortions; the French model of gestion concurrente/conjointe (art. 1421 Code civil).

Part III — Voidability of acts performed without spousal consent

• Derogations from the general rules on voidability under art. 184 Italian CC; the Italy/France divergence on the rules governing invalidity.

Part IV — Patrimonial liability

Part V — Primary matrimonial regime and personal property

• Primary regime restrictions on personal property (art. 217 Italian CC); comparison with art. 215 alinéa 3 Code civil (absolute prohibition on disposing of the family home) and §§ 1365, 1369 BGB.

Part VI — Agency and voluntary representation between spouses

• Strict formal requirements for powers of attorney between spouses (art. 182 Italian CC); presumption of gratuitousness; parallels in the Code civil (arts. 1431, 1539) and implied mandates in French case law (arts. 1432, 1540).

Part VII — Privity of contract and obligations incurred for the family

• Obligations contracted in the family interest: Italian regulatory gap compared with the French solidarité ménagère (art. 220 Code civil) and the German Geschäfte zur Deckung des Lebensbedarfs (§ 1357 BGB).

Part VIII — Gratuitous acts between spouses and cohabitees

• Gifts between spouses and convergence towards ordinary private law (repeal of art. 781 Italian CC; French Loi 2004-439); gratuitous acts between family members and cohabitees; the German doctrine of Ehebezogene Zuwendungen; work performed for the other partner and the Italian presumption of gratuitousness compared with the French objective test for subordination.

Part IX — Family home, property rights and possession

Loan for use and assignment of the family home; qualified detention of the cohabitee; sacrifice of ownership rights in the presence of family interests: judicially (Italy) and legislatively (art. 215 Code civil).

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:

E. Ceccherini and F. Brunetta d'Usseaux (eds.), Best interests(s) of the child. Una delicata e controversa declinazione, ESI, Naples, 2023 (entire volume).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Attending students: Lecture notes and materials published on AulaWeb (indicated during lectures).

Non-attending students: E. Ceccherini and F. Brunetta d'Usseaux (eds.), Best interests(s) of the child. Una delicata e controversa declinazione, ESI, Naples, 2023.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

FRANCESCA BRUNETTA D'USSEAUX (President)

ELENA ANNA GRASSO

ELEONORA CECCHERINI (President Substitute)

ENRICO AJMAR (Substitute)

AGOSTINO BONAVERA (Substitute)

SERAFINA FUNARO (Substitute)

CRISTINA OTTONELLO (Substitute)

SIMONE PITTO (Substitute)

FEDERICO PONTE (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

2nd semester, A.Y. 2025/2026. From Thursday 19 March 2026 to Friday 8 May 2026.

For timetables and rooms please consult EasyAcademy and AulaWeb.

Class schedule

FAMILY COMPARATIVE LAW

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral examination. The examination programme is differentiated as set out in the Syllabus section above.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The oral examination assesses: knowledge of the institutions covered and the relevant derogations from ordinary private law; ability to conduct comparative analysis between Italian, French and German law with reference to primary sources; critical evaluation of the systematic coherence of the solutions examined; correct use of technical legal terminology. Grades are expressed out of 30.

Exam schedule