PRIVATE LAW

Knowledge and understanding: fundamental concepts of private law and their interconnection with fundamental rights, EU law, and international law.

Applying knowledge and understanding: analysis of practical cases, with particular regard to transnational aspects.

Making judgements: critical assessment of the impact of private law rules on global social and economic dynamics.

Communication skills: clear and accurate presentation of fundamental legal concepts through the appropriate use of legal terminology.

Learning skills: ability to autonomously study statutory sources, case law, and scholarly writings.

In exceptional circumstances, one or more lectures may be delivered online, in compliance with the applicable academic regulations.

No prior legal knowledge is required. However, students are expected to have a basic understanding of civic education and adequate skills in reading and interpreting normative and doctrinal texts.

Attendance is optional but strongly recommended.

Students are regarded as attending students if they:

• have attended at least 70% of the total contact hours);

• have actively participated in the learning assessments proposed by the lecturer (at least 50% of follow-up and self-assessment assignments distributed via Microsoft Teams at the end of each lecture).

Attending students will be admitted to a mid-term examination, held at the end of the course and covering part of the the topics discussed during lectures.

Non-attending students will sit the final examination directly, under the conditions specified in the section Assessment methods.

Mid-term examination (for attending students)

• Format: 3–4 short open-ended questions (10–15 lines each) and the solution of a case law.

• Duration: 60 to 120 minutes.

• Content: the first part of the syllabus, namely:

  • Notion and sources of private law, the role of European law, and the relationship with public and international law.

  • Natural and legal persons: legal capacity, personality rights, data protection, digital identity.

  • Family and social formations: marriage, civil unions, cohabitation; parenthood; international perspectives.

  • Property and goods: concept of goods, rights in rem, private property and its social function, common goods and the environment.

• Attendance: attendance will be recorded through the signature on the attendance sheet. By signing, students give their consent to the collection and processing of personal data for this specific purpose only.

Course programme

• Introduction to Private Law: notion, sources, relationship with public and international law, role of European law.

• Natural and legal persons: legal capacity, capacity to act, personality rights, data protection, digital identity.

• Family and social formations: marriage, civil unions, cohabitation; parenthood; international perspectives.

• Property and goods: concept of goods, rights in rem, private property and its social function, common goods and the environment.

• Obligations and contracts: general principles, contracts of international relevance, consumer protection, ADR and arbitration.

• The enterprise and its distinctive signs.

• Civil liability: damages, strict liability, product liability and emerging technologies.

• Succession law: general principles, cross-border successions, EU regulations.

• Private autonomy and its limits: contracts and weaker parties, international public policy.

• Remedies and enforcement of rights: civil justice, mediation, arbitration, recognition of foreign judgments.

Dissertation topics (student’s choice)

• Personal data, contracts, and new forms of consideration
  – The use of personal data as consideration in digital contracts
  – The Data Act and the regulation of data access and use

• Private autonomy, digital platforms, and fundamental rights
  – Digital platforms and content moderation
  – Private autonomy and individual freedom in private international law

• Sustainability and corporate responsibility
  – Sustainability as a legal category
  – Corporate due diligence and social responsibility
  – Civil liability and new technologies (e.g. autonomous vehicles)

• Data protection and artificial intelligence
  – Interactions between data protection and artificial intelligence
  – Content moderation, generative AI, and freedom of expression

• The basic textbook is the following manual: P. Zatti – V. Fusaro, Diritto privato. Corso istituzionale, Wolters Kluwer, 2023. 

  For the preparation of the dissertation, students are required to select the articles contained in one of the thematic groups listed below, under the section “Bibliography.”

  
  

• The study must be complemented by consulting an updated volume of the Italian Civil Code and Supplementary Legislation (see below for an example).

The examination consists of an oral interview on the contents of the course and the submission of a written paper (10–15 pages).
The paper shall be prepared on one of the topics proposed by the lecturer among those covered by the supplementary readings and will be discussed during the examination.

The final assessment will take into account the command of legal terminology, the ability to consult and interpret statutory texts, the clarity of presentation, and the capacity to relate the acquired knowledge to the international context.

Attending students may take a mid-term examination, which will be held at the end of the course and will cover part of the topics addressed during the lectures. The content and format of the mid-term examination are specified below, under the section “Attendance” (Frequenza).