HISTORY OF LAW

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the complexity of a European vision of law. The unit seeks to select some of the main legal phenomena in the European history of law, providing the students with the information and skills needed to understand the historical roots of civil and common law. The course will try to extend the historical understanding of students as regards other legal systems, and developing in particular a critical overview of European legal traditions.

An adequate knowledge of English (at least B2) is required to follow the lessons and to take the exam

Knowledge and understanding The course will offer an institutional viewpoint. The student will have a complete knowledge of the main profiles of the European legal experience between the Middle Ages and the contemporary era. The peculiar features of ius commune legal world in the Middle ages and in the changed sceneries of the modern period will be illustrated. The course will then be centred on the outlining of a new conception of the legal order between the Natural Law theories and the Enlightenment and on its realisation which will be made in the 19th century by way of the affirmation of legal systems with codified law. Special attention will be given to the trends and the role of the juridical science Applying knowledge and understanding: The students will be able to: - Analyze legal phenomena from a historical-legal point of view; - Develop a comparative legal history approach; - Be accustomed to concepts useful to understand in a better way current legal trends and changes (global and transnational law, pluralistic legal mind etc.) Making judgements: The student will be able to analyze in-depth legal phenomena developing a critical understanding The student will be able to reflect and to discuss legal-historical key concepts. Communications Skills: The student will understand major terms and concepts in order to communicate appropriately their ideas, proposals, analysis and critical reasoning in the field of legal history and legal culture. Learning skills: The student will have some critical tools to understand a bit better why and how contemporay societies are marked by legal issues.

The course deals with the basic aspects of European legal history. Following the comparative legal history approach, it will present some key-elements: among them, Ius commune/Common Law traditions, legal Humanism, Natural Law, Law of Reason, Codifications, main legal trends and Schools.

Students attending lectures are required to study Tamar Herzog, A Short History of European Law. The Last Two and a Half Millennia, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2018; materials and texts will be suggested during classes Students not attending lectures are required to study Tamar Herzog, A Short History of European Law. The Last Two and a Half Millennia, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2018; L. Lacchè, Granted Constitutions. The Theory of octroi and Constitutional Experiments in Europe in the Aftermath of the French Revolution, in European Constitutional Law Review, 9/II, 2013, pp. 285-314; L. Lacchè, Granting citizenship following Caracalla ? The French experience and the Code Napoléon?, in Journal of Constitutional History, 27, I, 2014, pp. 179 198; L. Lacchè, The Sovereignty of the Constitution. A historical Debate in a European perspective, in Journal of Constitutional History, 34, II, 2017, pp. 83-102; L. Lacchè, On the Italian Style: The Eclectic Canon and the Relationship of Theory to Practice as key-elements of Italian Legal Culture (19th-20th Centuries), in Journal of Constitutional History, 34, II, 2017, pp. 263-280

The Professor will give lectures in order to present and explain the most important aspects of the course. In addition to this, there will be organized tutorials and seminars for students, using papers and powerpoint presentations, online or in classroom

The examination will be oral (100%). During the oral exam the student will be required to show that he/she knows and understands basic notions and concepts of Legal history and that he/she is able to use them as a critical tool to understand better the complexity and depth of legal phenomena. The student is expected to be able to analyze main sources and relevant categories of Legal history, 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 concepts of the matter and ability to use them to build up a basic legal culture (75%); appropriate use of English as means of communication and legal vocabulary, ability to analyze and evaluate relevant sources and acquisition of the study method (25%). Learning gaps concerning one or more notions or concepts will lead to an insufficient evaluation, even in presence of a basic knowledge of the matter.

For the current academic year thesis involving european history issues are preferred.

The course deals in its last part with the concept of sustainability connected with human rights and global constitutionalism