Learning objectives
The objective of the course is to acquire a basic knowledge of private law and legal procedure in ancient Rome.
The class will focus on the technical and historical aspects of ancient Roman law, in the sense that it will employ language and technical concepts of law, and, at the same time, it will emphasize the awareness of the historic character of law (that is, that the law is both an intellectual and social phenomenon).
At the end of the class, students will have at their disposal an initial knowledge base on the roots of contemporary juridical thinking and on the interrelationship between language and law as well as on the specifics of legal terminology. Furthermore, students will have access to essential techniques of legal reasoning, such as subsumption, that is the ability to relate specific cases to general categories.
The video lectures will be made available to all students.
Prerequisites
There are no pre-requisites, except a good knowledge of Italian. The latin texts discussed during class will be offered in Italian translation.
Course unit content
The course focuses on the key institutions of Roman law, encompassing its substantive aspects (such as personal and family law, the theory of legal acts, criminal law, obligations, donations, and inheritance) as well as its procedural frameworks.
Roman legal practice is analyzed through the comparison of two key characteristics: the application of the law was informed by scientific reflection (which forms the foundation of our modern legal thinking), and a plurality of normative layers coexisted.
The first characteristic necessitates a focused examination of how Roman jurists conceived of the law, which, through comparison, also enhances understanding of contemporary legal categories.
The second characteristic leads to recognizing the centrality of the process, through which the various normative layers were synthesized into a cohesive unit, aiming to find the most correct solution to resolve the contentious specific case. The study of case law thus represents a qualifying aspect of teaching and exam preparation.
In the context of the study of the law of obligations, particular attention will be devoted to specific types of obligations arising from lawful and unlawful acts.
Full programme
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Bibliography
Alternatively, at the student's discretion: M. Marrone, "Istituzioni di diritto romano," 3rd ed., Palermo, Palumbo, 2006, or A. Lovato – S. Puliatti – L. Solidoro, "Profilo di diritto privato romano", Giappichelli, Turin, 2024.
For both textbooks, footnotes will not be subject to examination.
Teaching methods
The lessons will be carried out in two ways: traditional lectures and readings aimed at illustrating the contents of the program, starting from the basic legal notions and essential references to the history of ancient Rome; in-depth analyzes with a seminar approach to encourage discussion with students on concrete cases drawn from Roman legal experience. The video lectures will be made available to all students.
Assessment methods and criteria
The achievement of the educational targets will be verified through an oral test to be held after the conclusion of the course which will consist of at least 3 questions on different topics on the parts of the text indicated in the Bibliography section (each answer will be assigned a score from 0 to 10, with increasing merit value). For the purposes of the evaluation, importance will be given to the correct and effective presentation of the contents in appropriate technical terms and to the quality of the legal reasoning. The final positive mark, deriving from the sum of the results achieved in the answers, will be expressed on a scale of evaluation out of thirty (from 18 to 30).
It will be possible to take a partial test in the period in which no lessons will take place, to allow the extraordinary session of the exams to be held (17 febbraio – 28 febbraio 2025) on the date to be communicated.
The written test will be multiple choice, to be carried out in person.
It will contain 32 questions and each correct answer will be awarded a point.
The exam, conducted following the aforementioned methods, will cover the general part of the program (corresponding to chapters I-V of both textbooks).
on the second part of the program only (corresponding to chapters VI-IX of both textbooks listed under "Reference Texts").
The score of the partial exam will contribute to form the final grade, which will be calculated on the average between the score of the partial exam and that of the final oral exam.
Other information
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