OVERVIEW

The Course will be focused on contract law and on some main aspects of the law of obligation.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students are expected to manage with critical attitude some main topics of contract law and the law of obligation.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The main purpose of the teaching is to offer an in-depth knowledge of the general discipline of the obligation and the contract; the student is called to develop those concepts already learned in the course of Institutions of private law, deepening the interpretative problems that jurisprudence and doctrine have highlighted in the application of the general provisions on the contract.

At the end of the course, the student will have acquired in-depth and updated knowledge of the most recent legislative, jurisprudential and doctrinal developments of an institution - the contract - which plays a fundamental role in private law and, more generally, in the economic context ; the connection between contract and deal, between contract and market will be the subject of particular attention.

Some significant doctrinal and jurisprudential materials will be read and discussed in class, useful for deepening some theoretical aspects of the subject.

The course of Civil Law I aims, in a first part, to illustrate to students certain aspects of the law of obligation; in a second part, the contract will be studied; in a third part, the new contract figures will be identified, also in a supranational perspective (in particular: the so-called asymmetric contract), identifying their characteristics and discipline.

To acquire sufficient preparation for the exam, in addition to individual study, attendance is recommended.

This implies, for the student, the need to:
- know, remembering the content, the provisions of the Civil Code under study;
- understand and be able to critically evaluate some application and interpretative problems that have arisen in certain aspects of the subject being taught;
- acquire, in solving the problems posed by the contract, an approach based on a combined application of different methods (dogmatic / conceptual / axiological / empirical);
- knowing how to read, understand and critically evaluate the text of a sentence or a doctrinal contribution;
- express themselves in an appropriate legal technical language.

PREREQUISITES

Students must have passed Diritto Privato I and II.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures and class participation.

Students who have valid certification of disability or Specific Learning Desorders (DSA) on file with the University may request the use of compensatory measures during the exams (e.g. additional time, concept maps, modifications in the written/oral mode), following the guidelines (p. 5) published here. 

In any case, for further information, please contact the Department’s disability liaison: Isa.Fanlo@unige.it

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The Syllabus will be published in aula web before the starting of the class.

The content of the course is the general part of Italian contract law (articles 1321-1469 Italian Civil Code, with reference to some other specific statutes on contract law and the law of obligation).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Reading list (for all studentes):

(i) some entries from the monographic volume devoted to contracts in the series "I Tematici" of the Enciclopedia del diritto. The entries can be downloaded in pdf from the "dejure Giuffrè" database.

ii) Giovanni D'Amico et al., Inadempimento. Responsabilità contrattuale. Mora debendi, Giappichelli, 2023 (pages 3-104; 173-194).

iii) Antonino Cataudella, I contratti. Parte generale, VI ed., 2023, Giappichelli, pp. 434 (tutto).

The initial part of the course will be devoted to a normative and systematic recapitulation of the obligation and the contract (for these purposes, very useful, and therefore suggested, is the following text: Codice civile per la didattica e lo studio, edited by Roberto Pucella, 3rd ed., Giappichelli, 2025, sub articles: 1173-1176; 1218;1256; 1321-1469).

Any other informations will be carefully provided in the first lecture and in the Syllabus that will be posted on the classroomweb before the course begins.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The course will be held in the second semester (from Feb. to May 2026).

Class schedule

CIVIL LAW I

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam will be focused on the written skills of the students in the construction of a legal argument related to contract law.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The exam is written (10 open questions: 3 points for each question).

The questions will not require a mnemonic answer but the development of a reasoning that denotes the acquisition of a critical capacity.

In particular, in answering the questions, students will be invited to develop both theoretical and argumentative aspects aimed at bringing out the problematic nature of the institution under analysis, as well as the elements around which to build the reasoning.

The civil code can be consulted (not commented).

FURTHER INFORMATION

You can write me always at this email address: mauro.grondona@unige.it.

Registration for the course on the web classroom is essential.