AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

form of comparative legal systems

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, the student will be able to grasp the main issues of comparative law, including concepts, theories, and language problems, classification of legal systems into families, legal transplants, and legal unification.

At the end of the course, the student will have acquired a basic understanding, from a private law perspective, of the main Civil Law and Common Law systems, and will be able to understand their material differences. Furthermore, he/she will have become familiar with the evolution of the European codification, from the Napoleonic Code in 1804, to the BGB in 1900, and the Italian Civil Code in 1942, and will have acquired a basic understanding of the reforms of contract law and obligation law implemented in the French legal system in 2016.

The student will be capable of identifying, both diachronically and synchronically, the analogies and differences between the framework of concepts and institutions outlined within foreign legal systems and those within the Italian private law system.

Accordingly, the student will be able to enrich the knowledge of his/her own domestic legal system with that of other foreign legal systems.

The student will be able to navigate the common law sources and will have a better understanding of the distinction between written law and case law.

Finally, the student will be able to use the comparative analysis into legal argumentation and will gain greater proficiency in his/her interpretive approach. These skills will entail a greater maturity and autonomy of judgment for the student

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures. Attendance is recommended.

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

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

In the first module, the student will be introduced to the classic themes of comparative law: method, language and translation issues, classification of the legal systems into families, and the related questions. The relationship between macro-comparison and micro-comparison, the similarities and differences in law, the theory of legal formants and cryptotypes will be explored too. The focus will be also on the origins of the major civil law codifications, particularly through the analytical examination of the legal provisions of the Napoleonic Code of 1804 and those of the German BGB, providing a systematic comparison between the structure, vocabulary, categories, and concepts of these foreign codes and those used in the current Italian Civil Code. Legal transplants will be identified, and some notions of French and German legal terminology will be provided. Furthermore, some of the main reforms that have affected the French and German codes in the 21st century will be illustrated.

The origin and historical evolution of the English legal system will be illustrated, with particular attention to the system of equity, the jurisdiction, the legal professions, and the sources of law. Finally, brief notes will be provided about the U.S.A. Law.

Finally, the module is enriched with a comparative examination of some current issues related to property law, no-profit law, and the role of notaries public in foreign legal systems.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Attending students:

• A. FUSARO, Lezioni di diritto privato comparato. Introduzione alla comparazione giuridica e ai sistemi giuridici. Istituti del diritto privato, Bozzi ed., Genoa, 2024;

Not-attending students:

One of the following texts, of your choice:

• A. FUSARO, Lezioni di diritto privato comparato. Introduzione alla comparazione giuridica e ai sistemi giuridici. Istituti del diritto privato, Bozzi ed., Genoa, 2024;
• A. GUARNERI, Lineamenti di diritto comparato, Padua, Cedam, latest edition, chapters I, II, III, VI (about 362 pages)

Specific indications on reference bibliography will be provided by the Professor at the beginning of the lectures.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

I semester: from September 15th to December 5th 2025
II semester: from February 9th to May 8th 2026

Class schedule

MODULE I INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE LAW AND TO COMPARATIVE LEGAL SYSTEMS B

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The course, although divided into modules, is unique. Therefore, the exam takes place orally at the end of the lessons of both modules, during the ordinary examination sessions.

N.B.: Students who have attended 2/3 of the lessons are considered attending students. Attendance will be ascertained through periodic roll calls.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Students having a valid certification of disability or Specific Learning Disorders (DSA)  may request the use of compensatory measures during the exams (e.g. additional time and/or concept maps), following the guidelines (p. 5) published here. In any case, for further information, please contact the Department’s disability liaison: Isa.Fanlo@unige.it