COURSES AND SEMINARS (ES) COURSES (MD)

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This syllabus is for students enrolled in the Studying Law at Roma Tre programme. It is shorter than the “Comparative Legal Systems” course which is part of the “Global Legal Studies” programme because it brings 7 ECTS instead of 9 ECTS.

Course description
The course cuts across traditional – and by now outdated – divisions between public law and private law, between substantive law and procedural law, and between the so-called civil law/common law divide. The course is focused on the Western Legal Tradition and explains the pitfalls of comparisons with non-Western systems. The course is divided in nine modules with the following content:

I MODULE: DEMOCRATIC SYSTEMS US presidentialism. - British parliamentarism. - Semi-presidential models. - EU concentration of powers. – Electoral systems.

II MODULE: VALUES Constitutionalism. - Bill of rights, fundamental rights, human rights. - Constitutional adjudication. - Rule of law. - Universalism vs Relativism. - The religious factor

III MODULE: GOVERNMENT The structure of Government. - Administration. - “Independent Agencies”. - Public participation in administrative procedures. - Judicial control over Government

IV MODULE: THE ECONOMIC DIMENSION Private autonomy. - Legal entities. – Insolvency. – Regulation. - State aid

V MODULE: THE “WELFARE STATE” Taxation. - Social services. - Labour relations and legislation

VI MODULE: REPRESSION OF CRIMES Substantive law vs. Procedural law. - What is a crime? - Who establishes crimes? – Sanctions. - Investigation, prosecution, trial. - Offenders and victims

VII MODULE: JUDGES AND JURISDICTION Status of judges. - Judicial organization. - Rules of procedure. - Judicial power. -Legal education. - Judges and/as literature

VIII MODULE: MODELS FOR A GLOBALIZED WORLD International conventions. - Uniform laws. - Lex Mercatoria. - International institutions. – Comparative international law.


Class schedule Lessons will begin on Wednesday, March 1st, 2023, and will be held every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 4 pm to 6 pm, excepting public holidays and when academic activity is suspended, following the topics listed in the course description (above). It is expected that lessons will end towards mid-May.
- Lessons will be held exclusively in presence.

Objectives
The course aims at introducing students, with a holistic perspective, to what a legal system is, what are the main differences between them, how to compare them. They main aim is that of showing the extreme complexity of contemporary legal systems and the continuous circulation of models between them.

Course Learning Activities
The course consists of lectures on the main aspects of a legal system using legal materials (legislation, decisions, statistical data, legal writings).

Assessment tools
The final exam will consist in a written essay in which students will be asked to answer to one hypothetical case (out of a choice of several) which draws on the topics presented during the classes.

Attendance policy
Class attendance is compulsory. Students are allowed a maximum of 7 (seven) absences, whatever the reason of the absence.

Course textbook: V. ZENO-ZENCOVICH, Comparative legal systems. A short and illustrated introduction (second edition), Roma TrE-Press, 2019 (the volume in open access is downloadable from the Roma TrE-Press website: https://roma

Full course information on the Law Department site