In the first part the course is aimed at the introduction and study of private comparative law, focusing on (i) the evolution and goals of the comparative law approach and the classification models generally used; (ii) the most distinctive characters of civil and common law tradition countries, to evaluate similarities and differences among them. In the second part of the course, students will deal, in a comparative perspective: (i) with the essential aspects of the common law trust and its recognition in Italy and in the main civil law systems according to The Hague Convention of 1985; (ii) with the main features of contract law in civil and common law system; (iii) with the pivotal sources of harmonization within the context of the international commercial contracts. The sessions are organised by alternating lectures and class discussions of cases and materials that will be uploaded on the LUISS Learn platform. To this end, students will be divided into groups.

Knowledge and understanding: The course provide knowledge of the main features of civil and common law legal systems to understand and assess similarities and differences through the examination of the evolution and the current structure of sources of law and their interpretation, the judicial system and the legal professions, the distinctive legal institutions (e.g., the trust). The aim is to provide students with a knowledge of the fundamental rules of contract law in the main western legal systems, with particular attention to common law systems, and also of the unification and harmonization process. Knowledge is acquired through the attendance of lectures and seminars, analysis of case law and materials, exercises and presentations in class, and is verified through exams, intermediate tests, discussions in class and case studies. Multimedia contents available on the Moodle platform create a permanent class-teacher interaction. Applying knowledge and understanding: Students will use the comparative law method and the functional approach to identifies, with regard to a given problem, similar or different legal instruments used to solve it in various legal systems, comparing them. Students will be able to give a more objective evaluation of their own legal system and identify or promote the circulation of models. The knowledge is acquired through the attendance of lectures, the analysis of case law and materials, presentations in class. These skills are verified through exams, intermediate tests, discussions in class and case studies. Making judgements: Students will use the comparative law method and collect, interpret and apply multilevel sources of law in the main civil and common law systems, also with regard to specific legal institutions and in particular contract law. Students will develop skills in critical thinking, problem solving, self-management, teamwork, relationships and communication, which will allow them to evaluate cases and materials autonomously, formulating their own critical judgement on the application of appropriate solutions to practical cases and problems submitted to their attention, even in a future work context. These skills are verified through intermediate tests, final exam, participation in discussions and simulations in class. Communication: At the end of the course, students will be able to master, with adequate terminological precision, the technical-legal vocabulary proper to comparative law and civil and common law systems. Participating in the various activities of the course (lectures, discussions in class, exercises, examinations, intermediate tests) students will learn to put into practice these communicative skills, written and oral, in different contexts, adapting the vocabulary to the target audience, acquiring rhetorical and argumentative skills essential for their professional career in a judicial and extrajudicial, national and supranational context. Lifelong learning skills: The technical-legal knowledge of comparative law and international commercial contracts will allow students to develop the ability to understand and interpret independently legislative, theoretical and case-law innovations referring to specific legal institutions (in particular contracts). Students will develop learning and in-depth study skills that allowing them to continue to deepen autonomously the topics studied and undertake the post-graduate training courses. These skills will be verified through participation to the various activities of the course (lectures, discussions in class, simulations, exercises, mid-term reviews and final exam).

(i) Comparative law: functions, goals, and methods. (ii) Western legal tradition and the leading civil and common law jurisdictions (sources of law, interpretation, legal education, judicial system). An outline of the most typical features of different legal systems, as, in common law, trust and its use in business law. iii) The main features of contract law in the civil and the common law legal systems. iv) General characteristics of international commercial contracts, in particular on contracts for the sale of goods, and related sources of hard and soft law. And other determinants of harmonization of law-

FIRST PART 1) V. Varano, V. Barsotti, La tradizione giuridica occidentale, vol I, VIII edition, 2024, chapter and appendix I, II (with the exception of Section IV concerning Eastern Europe) and III. SECOND PART: 2) Galgano (a cura di), Atlante di diritto privato comparato Bologna, 2011 (tavola 13). G. Alpa, G. Delfino, Il contratto nel common law inglese, CEDAM 2005, IV, p. 1 – 229. Cases and materials that will be examined and discussed in class will be available on LUISS Learn platform and the chair's website and will be mandatory also for non-attendants students.

- Frontal teaching; - Participation of students to the analysis of cases and materials, simulations and presentations. The final evaluation will be based on an oral exame. For the final evaluation, activities carried out during the course and active participation of students will be taken into account.

During the oral exam the student will have to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the principles of comparative private law and the method of comparing legal systems, the fundamental elements of the civil and common law systems examined, as well as of the trust and contractual law in civil and common law, and to apply them to cases submitted to his attention through the prospect of concrete examples. The student will have to learn and analyze the function and the juridical and economic advantages of dialogue and comparison between juridical formants. The student must also correctly use the technical-legal vocabulary of the subject, thus demonstrating that he has achieved the study method and learning ability necessary to continue the study of the subject independently. For the purposes of assigning a mark out of thirty, account will be taken of (i) the knowledge and understanding of the institutes and principles of the subject and the property of the technical-legal lexicon, (ii) the ability to apply the comparative method and consult and evaluate the relevant sources and the acquisition of the study method. For the purposes of the evaluation, the activities carried out during the course and the active participation of students will be taken into account. The presence of training gaps on one or more fundamental institutes or principles of a general nature will lead to an insufficient evaluation even in the presence of a basic knowledge of the subject.

Knowledge of the language of the foreign legal system is required.