Considering that law is a product of history, the main objective of teaching is to make the student aware of the elements of historicity present in the legal phenomenon. To this end, the course introduces the student to the study of the sources of law (custom, legislation, doctrine and jurisprudence) in a diachronic path that starts from the late empire centuries and reaches the contemporary age (4th-20th centuries). The student is called to distinguish historical periods, to recognize the moments of fracture, to grasp the elements of continuity over time of concepts and institutes, to identify the link between legal history and political and social history.

The methodology of the course, which combines traditional teaching (lectures) with innovative-experimental techniques (Debate, Flipped Learning and use of the Moodle-blended learning platform), is aimed at developing both the basic cognitive knowledge, both superior cognitive knowledge. In this way, through direct dialogue with the teacher and the work in class (Teaching Working Class), we want to stimulate the learning process through a more effective involvement of students and a better organization of the material, to facilitate the processes of knowledge during the course.

The program is divided into two parts.

— The first part (54 hours), of an institutional nature, deals with the following topics, presented in chronological order

1. Introduction to the study of the history of medieval, modern and contemporary law

2. The early Middle Ages (4th-10th centuries). Late Antiquity: an age of transition; Church and Roman Empire; the sources of law in the age of the Dominate; first collections of general leges and the Theodosian Code (438). — The Corpus of Justinian; the Pragmatica sanctio of 554. — Germanic rights and leges of the Roman-barbarian kingdoms; the institutions of the Lombard kingdom; the Edict of Rothari (643); evidence, role of the judge, compositiones in the Lombard trial. — The Church of Rome, the Carolingians and the "rebirth" of the Empire. — The feud: controversial origins and constitutive elements of the institute; progressive prevalence of the patrimonial character over the personal nature of the feud.

3. The late Middle Ages and the medieval legal Renaissance (11th-15th centuries): institutions, sources of law and legal culture. The reform of the Church (XIth c.); Gregory VII and the struggle over the investitures; the Dictatus Papae (1075 or 1076). — The "legal Renaissance": an ancient law for the new millennium; the pre-Irnerian period; the revolution of Irnerius and the School of civil law Glossators; the birth of the Studium of Bologna; the so-called "minor schools". — A new order for Church law: the Decretum of Gratian (circa 1140), the Liber Extra of Gregory IX (1234) and the origins of the science of canon law. — Birth, development and decline of the Italian communal regimes; local and particular laws; the municipal statuta; the dialectic of sources in the experience of common law (ius commune-iura propria). —The Italian monarchical orders; the Norman kingdom of Sicily; Frederick II and the Liber Augustalis (1231). — The age of the Commentators (XIIIth-XVth centuries); Bartolo da Sassoferrato and the bartolismo. — Legal humanism (XVth-XVIth centuries); Andrea Alciato and the School of Bourges; two doctrinal addresses: mos gallicus and mos italicus iura docendi.

4. The modern age (16th-18th centuries). The end of medieval universalism and the New World; the modern natural law theories; the jurists-theologians of the School of Salamanca; Grozio, Hobbes, Locke. — The legal literature in the age of jurisprudence: consilia and decisiones; the Great Tribunals and the Rotas. — The crisis of the "system" of ius commune; the anti-jurisprudential ideology and the norms of the territorial prince; criticisms of the mos italicus of G.B. De Luca; L.A. Muratori and the treatise Dei difetti della giurisprudenza (1742). — The legal enlightenment; the political-juridical thought of Montesquieu, Rousseau and Voltaire; new economic theories: the physiocracy; the penal problem and the reform of Cesare Beccaria. — The French Revolution; the National Constituent Assembly and the Declaration of the rights of man and of citizen (August 26, 1789); territorial government and reforms of the judicial system of the revolutionary and Napoleonic era; introduction of the French-Napoleonic administrative and judicial systems in the Italian Departments.

5. The age of codes (18th-19th centuries). The legislative compilations of European enlightened absolutism (18th c.).  — The revolutionary legislation: the "droit intermédiaire" and the workshop of the French civil code. — The Code civil of 1804 and the characters of the "modern code"; the other Napoleonic codes; jurists and interpretation. — The Austrian General Civil Code of 1811 (ABGB). — The revolutionary legislation: the "droit intermédiaire" and the workshop of the French civil code. — The Code civil of 1804 and the characters of the "modern code"; the other Napoleonic codes; jurists and interpretation. — The Austrian General Civil Code of 1811 (ABGB). — Savigny vs Thibaut: the debate over codification in Germany (1814). — The introduction of the Code civil in Italy in the Napoleonic period and his reception in the Italian States in the Restoration (after 1814).

6. The constitutional systems (18th-19th centuries). The American Revolution and the Constitution of the United States of America (1776-1791). — The constitutions of revolutionary France (1791-1799). — The age of the Restoration and the European constitutions (1814-1848); the constitution of the Kingdom of Sardinia of 1848 (the Statuto Albertino) and the beginnings of parliamentarism in Italy. 

7. The nineteenth century: a legal century (1814-1916). Legislation, culture and legal science in Italy and in Europe; the French School of Exégèse; the German Historical School; the Pandectist School.

8. Towards a new order: the long transition of Italy from Unification to the Second World War. Italy united in the new kingdom: the constitutional monarchy, the codes, the political representation (1861-1921). — The Fascist regime in terms of legal history (1922-1943). —  The two so-called "Costituzioni transitorie" (1944-1946). —  The Republican Constitution and the return to democracy.

The second part (6 hours), of a monographic nature, is dedicated to the relations between ius commune and iura propria. The topics are presented in the following order:

1. Origins of Italian medieval city communes; the consular commune (11th-12th c.); constitutional position of the municipalities facing the Empire (with reference to the city communes of central and northern Italy); the constitution of Podestà in the thirteenth century; the affirmation of the People (second half of the thirteenth century) and the juridization of relations between citizens; components of the municipal statute-books (consuetudines, brevia, statuta);

2. Ius commune and iura propria: the doctrine of the statutes (the theoretical justification of the potestas condendi statuta); pluralism and graduation of normative sources in pre-modern territorial systems;

3. Age of municipal statutes (12th-18th centuries); municipal statutes and Roman civil law: case studies.

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Knowledge and understanding

At the end of the course the student must prove that he or she has knowledge of

- the legal phenomenon, in particular of its connatural relationship with history

- the legal systems with a view to their development over time and with reference to the main stages of European legal history

- the historical-legal fields and the basic philosophical-legal principles

- legal phenomena with reference to social, cultural and economic issues

- the historical periods, the moments of fracture, the elements of continuity over time, which have characterized the Western legal history from the early Middle Ages to the contemporary age

Applying knowledge and understanding

At the end of the course the student must demonstrate the ability to

- contextualise and interpret the nature and implications of legal systems

- find, including through databases, understand and use historical and philosophical sources of law

- deal with the interpretation of a legal text both in its internal logic and in its relationship with other texts

- become accustomed to a technical-juridical language enriched by terms of classical derivation and the first problems related to textual criticism

- develop a historical awareness of the legal institutions of positive law in force

Making judgmentents

At the end of the course the student must demonstrate the ability to:

- collect and interpret relevant data from legal history

- integrate knowledge, manage complexity and make judgements (including incomplete data) with their own reflections and with personal links between the various parts of the examination programme

Communication skills

At the end of the course the student must demonstrate the ability to:

- have communication skills combined with adequate legal vocabulary

- communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to specialist and non-specialist interlocutors

-  express the knowledge acquired with a proper legal language, following argumentative paths typical of legal logic.

Learning skills

At the end of the course the student must demonstrate:

- to be able to draw up legal documents rationally organised

- have developed the necessary skills to undertake subsequent studies with a high degree of autonomy

- to be able to study in a largely self-managed or autonomous way

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Written and oral exercises, intermediate tests.

The teacher will provide students with other teaching support materials in the form of slides, scientific essays, handouts through the Moodle platform ›blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

The teaching is delivered in the second semester. The first part of the course (54 hours) is divided into lectures by the teacher (traditional methods) (44 hours) and innovative-experimental methods (Teaching Working Class) that involve the active participation of students, stimulating analysis and debate on the issues addressed (10 hours). The second part of the course (6 hours) consists of oral exercises carried out by the students. The topics of the exercises are identified by the teacher who provides the materials (texts and essays of legal history) on which the student carries out his oral intervention in the classroom.It will also resort to hybrid seminar forms through the use of digital touchboards.

The reception of students, aimed at providing clarification and to carry out a possible review of the key topics of the program addressed in class, will be held in mixed mode on Thursday, from 14.00 to 16.00, by appointment by email.

For information you can contact the teacher at sandro.notari@uniurb.it

Innovative teaching methods

Teaching methods

The course includes:

- frontal lessons (traditional mode)
- writing
- oral presentations
- lessons in which the presented works will be discussed
- other innovative-experimental modalities

Innovative teaching

As detailed in the following fields, the didactic mode in presence will be enriched with exercises and individual insights that students will carry out using the University’s Moodle platform. Innovative and experimental methods will be adopted with the practice of "debate". Some topics of the course will be treated following the practice of the "flipped lesson" (inverted lesson).

Attendance

Classes are for first-year students. No content prerequisites are required. A basic knowledge of political and institutional history from the Middle Ages helps to learn the contents of the course, which runs over a period of 16 centuries (IV-XX).

Attendance is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended.

The student must attend 75% of the lessons in order to take the examination as an 'attending student'.

Course books

I Part 

P. Alvazzi del Frate, M. Cavina, R. Ferrante, M. Miletti, N. Sarti, S. Solimano, G. Speciale, E. Tavilla, Tempi del diritto. Età medievale, moderna, contemporanea, Coordinamento a cura di Elio Tavilla, TERZA EDIZIONE, Torino, Giappichelli, 2022

II Part

- Lecture notes and teaching materials provided by the teacher via Moodle-blended learning platform

- Further study material will be reported in class by the teacher and made available to students (attending and non-attending) through the Moodle-blended learning platform.

Students wishing to take the exam in English must study the following text: A. Padoa Schioppa, A History of Law in Europe. From the Early Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century, Cambridge University Press, 2017, §§ 1-33, pp. 1-536.

Assessment

Oral exam, consisting of three or more questions that concern both the topics covered during the course, and the themes dealt with in the exam texts indicated.

A written mid-term assessment test, reserved for attending students, consisting of a closed-question test (multiple choice) or indefinite, will take place at about half of the course.

The outcome of the mid-term examination is indicative for the overall assessment of the student’s preparation.

The assessment criteria and the relative scores in thirtieth are determined on the following scale:

less than 18/30 - insufficient level of competence: the candidate does not achieve any of the learning outcomes set out in "knowledge and understanding";
18-20 / 30 - sufficient level of competence: the candidate achieves the learning outcomes set out in "knowledge and understanding;
21-23 / 30 - fully sufficient level of competence: the candidate achieves the learning outcomes set out in the points "knowledge and understanding" and "applied knowledge and understanding";
24-26 / 30 - good level of competence. The candidate achieves the learning outcomes foreseen in the "knowledge and understanding" points; "applied knowledge and understanding skills" and "judgement autonomy";
27-29 / 30 - very good level of competence: the candidate achieves the learning outcomes provided for in the points "knowledge and understanding"; "knowledge and understanding applied"; "judgement autonomy" and "communication skills";;
30-30 cum laude - excellent level of competence: the candidate fully achieves the learning outcomes provided for in the points "knowledge and understanding"; "knowledge and understanding applied"; "judgment autonomy"; "communication skills" and "ability to learn".

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Attendance

Oral exam, consisting of three or more questions concerning the topics covered in the indicated exam texts.

The evaluation criteria and the scores of the oral exam are determined out of thirty according to the following scale:

less than 18/30 - insufficient level: the candidate does not achieve any of the expected learning outcomes;
18-20 / 30 - sufficient level: the candidate achieves the learning outcomes referred to in point 1;
21-23 / 30 - fully sufficient level: the candidate achieves the learning outcomes referred to in points 1 and 2;
24-26 / 30 - good level: the candidate achieves the learning outcomes referred to in points 1, 2, 3;
27-29 / 30 - very good level: the candidate achieves the learning outcomes referred to in points 1, 2, 3, 4;
30-30 cum laude - excellent level: the candidate fully achieves all the expected learning outcomes.

Course books

- P. Alvazzi del Frate, M. Cavina, R. Ferrante, M. Miletti, N. Sarti, S. Solimano, G. Speciale, E. Tavilla, Tempi del diritto. Età medievale, moderna, contemporanea, Coordinamento a cura di Elio Tavilla, TERZA EDIZIONE, Torino, Giappichelli, 2022

- Lecture notes and teaching materials provided by the teacher via Moodle-blended learning platform

- Further study material will be reported in class by the teacher and made available to students (attending and non-attending) through the Moodle-blended learning platform.

Students wishing to take the exam in English must study the following text: A. Padoa Schioppa, A History of Law in Europe. From the Early Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century, Cambridge University Press, 2017, §§ 1-33, pp. 1-536.

To these texts, non-attending students add a compulsory text chosen from the following:

- L. Loschiavo, L'età del passaggio. All'alba del diritto comune europeo (secoli III-VII), Torino, Giappichelli, 2019.

- M. Caravale, Diritto senza legge. Lezioni di diritto comune, Torino, Giappichelli, 2013

-  M. Ascheri, Istituzioni medievali, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1999

- C. Ghisalberti, Unità nazionale e unificazione giuridica in Italia. La codificazione del diritto nel Risorgimento, ult. ed., Roma- Bari, Laterza 

- E. Dezza, Storia della codificazione civile. Il Code Civil (1804) e l'Allgemeines Brgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB, 1812), seconda edizione, Torino, Giappichelli, 2000.

Assessment

Oral exam, consisting of three or more questions concerning the topics covered in the indicated exam texts..

The evaluation criteria and the scores of the oral exam are determined out of thirty according to the following scale:

less than 18/30 - insufficient level: the candidate does not achieve any of the expected learning outcomes;
18-20 / 30 - sufficient level: the candidate achieves the learning outcomes referred to in point 1;
21-23 / 30 - fully sufficient level: the candidate achieves the learning outcomes referred to in points 1 and 2;
24-26 / 30 - good level: the candidate achieves the learning outcomes referred to in points 1, 2, 3;
27-29 / 30 - very good level: the candidate achieves the learning outcomes referred to in points 1, 2, 3, 4;
30-30 cum laude - excellent level: the candidate fully achieves all the expected learning outcomes.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.