Instructional goals
The study course aims to complete the student's training in the Civil Procedural Law matters, with a view to their insertion in the professional field, taking into account the centrality of the subject itself in many of the job opportunities offered by the degree course.
Prerequisites
The attendance of the course implies the prior and adequate knowledge of Civil law and Constitutional Law.
Intended learning outcomes
1) Knowledge and understanding
The student will be provided with the necessary skills in the following areas: general principles of consensual justice; ordinary proceedings of first instance and appeals; special and summary proceedings; enforcement proceedings. These skills will be acquired through lectures, case law analysis, seminars and experiential learning.
The knowledge will be verified through the frequency of seminar activities and the oral exam to be held at the end of the course.
2) Applying Knowledge and Understanding
The student will be able to understand the role of judge and lawyer in Italy and in Europe. In this way, the interdisciplinary skills necessary for students who are interested in working professionally in the fields of the classic forensic professions (Lawyers, Judges, Notaries) and consultancy activities in the private sector may be acquired.
The aforementioned skills will be acquired through frontal teaching, analysis of case-law, seminar activities and learning by doing.
The skills will be verified through the analysis of practical cases, written exercises (optional) and the oral exam to be held at the end of the course.
Furthermore, the presence of multimedia content available on the platforms (videos, slides, tutorials, forums, etc.) will give the possibility of creating a permanent interaction between the students and the Professor.
3) Making judgements
The student, with the help of the advice given by the Professor and his collaborators during the lessons, will be able to analyze the normative sources and the relevant guidelines in doctrine and case-law, and to independently evaluate these guidelines, making his/her own critical judgment. He/She will also be able to apply the rules studied to specific cases, identifying the legal issues underlying the practical cases analyzed.
The skills are achieved through the collection and processing of all information on regulatory innovations, case-law and Scholar’s trends, as well as through a comparative approach.
The skills will be verified during seminar activities, written exercises (optionals), in the interaction with the Professor and through the oral exam to be held at the end of the course.
4) Communication Skills
At the end of the course, the student will be able to command, with adequate terminological precision, the technical-legal lexicon proper to Civil Procedural Law. By participating in the various course activities – lessons with classroom discussions, oral exams, seminar activities – the student will learn to practice the communication skills acquired in different contexts, adapting the lexicon to the reference interlocutor, thus acquiring additional skills rhetoric and argumentative, needed for the professional career.
Communication skills are acquired through the reading of normative texts, the attendance of seminar activities and the analysis of case-law.
The skills will be verified during the seminar activities, in the interaction with the Professor and through the oral exam to be held at the end of the course.
5) Learning skills
The technical-legal knowledge acquired during the study course will allow the student to understand and interpret autonomously the regulatory, doctrinal and case-law innovation related to Civil Procedural Law. The student will develop a solid knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the subject that will allow him to continue studying the issues dealt with independently, and to undertake the various post-graduate professional training studies.
Course Contents
The course will focus on civil procedure, with particular emphasis on the following topics: general principles, declaratory proceedings, appeals, special proceedings (excluding proceedings for just satisfaction due to unreasonable length of proceedings), and enforcement.
Reference Books
For general principles ( Lessons 1-3)
a) Luiso, Diritto processuale civile, Milano, Giuffrè, Vol. 1
For the remaining parts of the syllabus ( Lessons 4-12), one of the following Handbook, at the student’s choice:
a) Auletta, Diritto giudiziario civile, last Edition
b) Luiso, Diritto processuale civile, Milano, Giuffrè, Vol. 2-4
c) Ruffini, Diritto processuale civile, Il Mulino, Vol. 2 and 3
d) Sassani, Lineamenti di diritto processuale civile, Milano, Giuffrè.
It is also essential to consult an updated code of civil procedure. In particular, reference is made to:
I) Codice di procedura civile edited by E. D'Alessandro and R. Tiscini, ESI, 2025.
II) Codice di procedura civile sistematico, edited by S. Boccagna, Giappichelli, 2025
Teaching Methods
- Lectures
- Seminars and Experiential Learning Activities
-Case-law Analysis
Assessment Method
ORAL EXAM
During the oral exam the student will be required to show that he/she knows and understands notions and principles of Procedural Civil Law and that he/she is able to apply them.
The student is expected to be able to independently analyse sources and relevant theories of Procedural Civil Law and to use the appropriate technical and legal vocabulary, thus proving that he/she has acquired the study method and the learning ability for carrying on, also independently, further study of the matter.
The following evaluation criteria will be taken into account to assign the final grade, expressed in thirtieths: - knowledge and understanding of the notions and principles of the matter and ability to apply them to concrete cases (60%); - appropriate use of the technical legal vocabulary (25%); - ability to analyse and evaluate relevant sources and acquisition of the study method (15%).
Learning gaps concerning one or more notions or principles contained in one of more books of the Code of Civil Procedure will lead to an insufficient evaluation, even in presence of a basic knowledge of the matter.
Thesis assignment criteria
The assignment of the final paper for the dissertation requires a competence of the institutional elements of Civil Procedural Law.
Week 1
Session 1: On-Campus
Civil judicial protection: Article 24 of the Constitution. Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Different forms of judicial protection. Limits of judicial protection. Article 111 of the Constitution and the principles of fair trial; the obligation to provide reasoned judgments and the constitutional guarantee of appeal to the Supreme Court.
Jurisdiction: Limits of ordinary jurisdiction. Perpetuatio jurisdictionis. Raising jurisdictional objections. Jurisdictional disputes and transfer of proceedings.
Territorial jurisdiction (venue).
Session 2: Online
The principle of the more convincing argument.
Case study: Climate change litigation and absolute lack of jurisdiction ("reading a judgment").
Self-assessment test.
Week 2
Session 1: On-campus
Procedural requirements concerning parties: Standing to sue. Legal interest to bring action.
Negative procedural requirements: Lis pendens (domestic and international). Connection between cases. Res judicata (objective, subjective and temporal limits).
Session 2: Online
Procedural requirements concerning parties: Legal capacity to sue. Technical representation.
Digital justice.
Nullity of procedural acts.
Video Tutorial: Preparing for In-Class Written Exercises.
Week 3
Session 1: On-campus
Objectively and subjectively consolidated proceedings: Compulsory joinder of parties. Permissive joinder of parties. Voluntary intervention by third parties and court-ordered intervention. Third party joinder- Succession (Articles 110-111 of the Civil Procedure Code). Removal of parties.
Session 2: Online
Costs of proceedings.
Enhanced procedural liability.
Self-assessment test.
Experiential learning: Drafting a case note.
Week 4
Session 1: On-campus
First instance proceedings: Ordinary proceedings and simplified proceedings.
Ordinary proceedings: The claim form and potential nullities. Service of the claim form. Statement of defense. Defendant's pleas. Parties' appearance, Delayed appearance. Judge's preliminary checks and new rules for the introductory phase.
Exchange of supplemental briefs before the hearing. First appearance hearing.
Simplified proceedings.
Session 2: Online
Experiential learning: Analysis of a claim form and application.
Self-assessment test.
Week 5
Session 1: On-campus
Evidence-taking phase: Admission and collection of evidence. Court's ex officio investigatory powers. Facts to be proved. Burden of proof rules. Distinctions between different types of evidence. Evidential arguments and presumptions. Public documents and challenges to authenticity. Private documents.
Specific evidentiary methods: Witness testimony. Judicial admission; Oaths; Expert evidence. Atypical and unlawfully obtained evidence.
Session 2: Online
Decision-making phase: Proceedings before collegiate courts and single judges.
Self-assessment test.
Week 6
Session 1: On-campus
Final and non-final judgments.
Irregular proceedings: Stay, interruption, termination.
Session 2: Online
Experiential learning: Mock trial.
Self-assessment test.
Week 7
Session 1: On-campus
Appeals (general principles): Costs liability for unsuccessful party. Time limits. Acquiescence, Service of appeal notice. Cross-appeals and their effects. Appeals in multi-party proceedings. Appeal to second-instance court.
Session 2: Online
Experiential learning: Analysis of appellate judgment.
Self-assessment test.
Week 8
Session 1: On-campus
Supreme Court appeals. Preliminary references to Supreme Court for interpretation.
Extraordinary remedies: Reopening of cases. Reopening for ECHR violations. Third-party challenges.
Session 2: Online
Experiential learning: Analysis of Supreme Court decision.
Precedent and prospective overruling.
Self-assessment test.
Week 9
Session 1: On-campus
Non-interim summary proceedings: Payment order proceedings. Proceedings for validation of eviction notices.
Session 2: Online
Employment proceedings (overview).
Self-assessment test.
Week 10
Session 1: On-campus
Interim relief. Types of protective measures: Seizure orders. Urgent measures. Preliminary evidence-taking. Standard interim proceedings. Possessory actions.
Session 2: Online
Experiential learning: Analysis of urgent interim measure (Art. 700 CPC).
Self-assessment test.
Week 11
Session 1: On-campus
Enforcement proceedings: Enforcement titles and enforcement orders. Compulsory execution (general principles). Effects of attachment orders. Attachment of movable assets and third-party debts. Attachment of immovable property. Creditors' interventions. Judicial sale and compulsory allocation. Distribution of proceeds. Distribution disputes.
Session 2: Online
Self-assessment test.
Week 12
Session 1: On-campus
Challenges to enforcement.
Guided self-assessment test: elaborated on the topics covered during the course.
Session 2: Online
Self-Assessment Test for the Final Examination.