Insegnamento a.a. 2024-2025

30620 - HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS OF LAW - MODULE 2 (COMMON LAW)

Department of Law

Course taught in English
Code 30619 Historical Foundations of Law - module 1 (Civil law) and code 30620 Historical Foundations of Law - module 2 (Common law) are respectively the first and the second module of the course code 30618 HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS OF LAW

Class timetable
Exam timetable
Go to class group/s: 28
BGL (6 credits - II sem. - OB  |  IUS/19)
Course Director:
EMILIO CAROLI

Classes: 28 (II sem.)
Instructors:
Class 28: STEFANO MALPASSI


Mission & Content Summary

MISSION

The course focuses on the historical development of the common law tradition, from the late eleventh century onwards. The course’s mission is to build a historical understanding of modern legal systems, starting from the formation of a national system of law in England, known as the common law. In contrast to the European continent, where Roman law exerted greater influence and codification movements gained traction, England embraced a system of private law rooted in custom and case law, with less reliance on legislation. In the broader context of the Bachelor in Global Law, the historical foundations of common law contribute to the education of contemporary jurists, who are increasingly detached from national law and focused on an international dimension, in which principles play a preeminent role over individual national legislations.

CONTENT SUMMARY

The course provides students with an introduction to the origins and the subsequent evolution of the common law tradition, which emerged, in the XI century, in contrast to the Roman civil law. The common law tradition originated from the practices of the English royal courts in the centuries following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

Although the early common law scholars and judges were familiar with Roman law, the development of the common law had progressed to a point where it diverged from the reception movements experienced in the same decades on the European continent.

In the XII Henry II institutionalized common law. He created a unified system of law that applied throughout the country. Local customs were incorporated and elevated to a national level, enabling all the king's courts across England to implement a unified legal framework.

The course will trace the evolution of this system and its significance in shaping the figure of the contemporary global jurist.


Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • have a solid legal-historical education, in order to better appreciate the origins and the evolution of common law, from the early Middle Ages to the XX Century;
  • know the evolution of the sources of law, from the collapse of the Roman Empire till nowadays;
  • be able to distinguish the following periods of legal history and identify their main characters: Late Antiquity; Early Middle Ages; Age of ius commune; Early Modern period; Age of Reforms; Age of Nations; Contemporary period (XX century);
  • value the importance of legal history in order to better understand positive law.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • recognize the historical origins of contemporary legal terminology and the general framework of common law system;
  • interpret positive rules in light of their historical evolution from the Middles Ages to the Contemporary legal experiences;
  • build a legal reasoning that takes into account the origin of the norms;
  • value the importance of legal history to elaborate an answer to the question: ‘Are we heading towards Global Law’?

Teaching methods

  • Face-to-face lectures

DETAILS

tbd


Assessment methods

  Continuous assessment Partial exams General exam
  • Written individual exam (traditional/online)
    x
  • Oral individual exam
  x  
  • Individual assignment (report, exercise, presentation, project work etc.)
  x  
  • Active class participation (virtual, attendance)
    x
  • Peer evaluation
    x

ATTENDING STUDENTS

Discussion of a paper in a class oral presentation.

Multiple choice test as final written exam.


NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

Oral exam on the content of the suggested textbooks.


Teaching materials


ATTENDING STUDENTS

Russell Sandberg, A Historical Introduction to English Law. Genesis of the Common Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023

 

Antonio Padoa Schioppa, A History of Law in Europe. From the Early Middle Ages to the Twentiwth Century, Cambridge 2017. Selected parts of the Textbook will be indicated for the Attending Students by the Lecturer.


NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

Russell Sandberg, A Historical Introduction to English Law. Genesis of the Common Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023

 

Antonio Padoa Schioppa, A History of Law in Europe. From the Early Middle Ages to the Twentiwth Century, Cambridge 2017.

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