OVERVIEW

The institutional Course of Private Law, divided into two modules of 9 CFU (54 hours) each, represents the first encounter with the study of law, with its language and its conceptual categories.

Private Law is not only the largest area in the universe of legal disciplines but constitutes the basic conceptual framework of any discourse that has legal norms as its object, so that its study and its learning represent a fundamental and unrepeatable moment in the training of anyone who studies Law.

The Course addresses the major themes of Italian Private Law through the examination of its institutions, moving from the legal provisions which regulate them, retracing their continuous evolution and arranging them within an order as rational and coherent as possible.

The Course, in its two modules, covers the entire Private Law discipline: from Individual and Organizations to Successions, passing through the major institutions of patrimonial law, Family Law and principles of Company Law.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with not only the institutional notions relating to the program, but also the ability to use these notions to construct a legal argument relating to specific cases. The main purpose of both modules of the course is to provide students with basic knowledge, study methods and interpretative tools to be able to independently identify, understand and apply the regulatory provisions that regulate the conduct of legal relationships between private parties. More specifically, the course aims to provide students with an understanding of the system of the civil code, to familiarize them with its consultation, with the technical-legal terminology and, through some case examples, with the application of legal reasoning.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with basic knowledge that will enable them to understand and acquire legal technical terminology and certain abstract legal categories (such as the concept of a legal person), with a focus on the following topics:

• Private law within the legal system and its sources;

• Legal situations, subjective rights, legal relationships, and the transfer and evolution of rights;

• Judicial protection and evidence;

• Legal subjects: natural persons and organizations;

• Personality rights;

• Obligations;

• Contracts in general.

Through class attendance, individual study, and participation in additional learning activities offered during the course, students will be able to:

• Understand and recall legal provisions concerning the main institutions of civil law and the rules governing private relationships;

• Comprehend the structure and functioning of the private law system and recognize the significance and relevance of private law protection;

• Identify, interpret, and apply the appropriate legal rules to resolve concrete cases of conflict between private individuals;

• Read and critically analyze legal texts and scholarly articles on civil law issues, as well as judgments issued by lower courts, higher courts, or the Constitutional Court concerning private law matters;

• Express themselves using appropriate legal terminology.

TEACHING METHODS

The course is delivered through face-to-face lectures, totaling 54 hours (equivalent to 9 ECTS credits), during which the main theoretical concepts of Private Law Institutions will be presented and analyzed. In addition, examples and practical cases drawn from the most recent case law will also be proposed and discussed.

Active, conscious, and engaged attendance is highly recommended and duly valued. Students are encouraged to use the EasyAcademy platform or download the MyUNIGE app for the fastest and most effective attendance tracking.

At the end of each class, any issues or difficulties encountered during the session or in individual study may be addressed.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Law, private law

Rights, legal situations, and their dynamics

Subjects, assets

Non-profit entities

Obligations

Contracts

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Required textbooks for attending students (i.e., those present for at least two-thirds of the attendance checks):

• V. Roppo, Diritto Privato, Giappichelli, Turin, 2024, limited to the parts corresponding to the topics covered in Module I (Part I: entire; Part II: entire; Part III: entire; Part V: entire; Part VI: entire).

• Two cases of the student’s choice from: A.M. Benedetti, Il contratto. Itinerari giurisprudenziali, Giappichelli, Turin, 2024.

Required textbooks for non-attending students:

Any additional materials indicated and provided by the Teacher. 

Textbook for non-attending students: in addition to V. Roppo, Diritto Privato (Giappichelli, latest available edition), students must study three cases of their choice from the volume by A.M. Benedetti, Il contratto. Itinerari giurisprudenziali (Turin, Giappichelli, 2024).

Students are advised to use and consult the following annotated code:

Codice civile. Per la didattica e lo studio, edited by R. Pucella (Giappichelli, latest available edition).

Students are strongly recommended to purchase and consult: G. De Nova (ed.), Codice civile e leggi collegate (Constitution, EU Treaties, Civil Code, Related Laws; Zanichelli, latest available edition).

Other editions of the Civil Code and supplementary laws are equally suitable.

Additional material may be indicated and/or made available on Aulaweb.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ALBERTO MARIA BENEDETTI (President)

VALENTINA DI GREGORIO

MAURO GRONDONA (President Substitute)

LUCA OLIVERI (President Substitute)

EDOARDO PESCE (President Substitute)

GIORGIO AFFERNI (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

First semester: September 14 to December 4, 2026

Classes will begin on Monday, September 14, 2026.

Class schedules are available on the EasyAcademy platform.

Aulaweb will be used for communications; students are advised to check it frequently and carefully.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam, for both attending and non-attending students, is conducted orally (unless a different exam syllabus applies) in the form of an interview, typically consisting of 3 or 4 questions of varying degrees of specificity, on the entire syllabus. 

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students who, due to disabilities, specific learning disorders ("DSA"), or special educational needs ("BES"), require compensatory tools and/or dispensatory measures - either for exam preparation (materials, educational support, individuales meetings, etc.) or during the examination (e.g., use of mind maps, additional time, etc.) - are invited to communicate their needs to Prof. Edoardo Pesce and the disability liaison officer of the Faculty/Department, Prof.ssa Fanlo Cortés (isa.fanlo@unige.it), in order to agree on the most appropriate arrangements.

For information on the services offered by UNIGE to students with disabilities, "DSA" or "BES", and to access compensatory and/or dispensatory measures during examinations, please refer to the guidelines available on the university website: here

Please contact Professor Pesce for further informations not included on this page.