Università Roma Tre

The Roman Law course will be carried out through the analysis and discussion of specific cases.
In particular, problems arising from each case will be treated in a diachronic comparative perspective, making comparisons between the approach adopted by Roman jurists and the contemporary legal regime, with specific regard to the Italian and other European legal systems.
The first part of the course will be focused to an in-depth study of the casuistic method, in relation with the analysis of the role of the “regula iuris” held in the Roman jurisprudence, which followed the development of the Roman legal system up to the post-classical period. With specific regard to the evolution of the sources of Roman law, the study will take a close look at the main stages of history of jurisprudence.
The second part of the course will be offered through seminar meetings, often in open dialogue with Italian and foreign guest lecturers. Liability will be the main focus of this part of the course: what does liability mean? How did the idea arise in the thinking of Roman jurists? What legacy has the Roman reflection upon liability left for today’s European private law? In order to gain proper understanding of the mechanisms that used to lead to the outcome of a “condemnatio”, the issue of liability in Roman civil proceedings will be addressed form both a contractual and a non-contractual point of view: respectively when the subject failed to fulfil an obligation and in case of torts. Particular attention will be paid to the procedural profile.


Program

First part (reference text: F. Schulz, History of Roman legal science, Oxford, 1953; P. Stein, Roman law in European history, Cambridge, 1999).

Second part (reference text: B.W. Frier, A Casebook on the Roman Law of Contracts, Oxford, 2021, 1-16; 182-187; 213; 263-265; 300-302; 397-399; 406-407; R. Zimmermann, The Law of Obligations: Roman Foundations of the Civilian Tradition, Oxford, 1996, 293-337; 953-997; 998-1049).



The students attending the course may limit their study to the contents and materials of the lessons. Some recommended readings will be reported from time to time during the lectures.

In particular, the exam on the second part of the course will focus on the study of TWO LESSONS, among those proposed in the second part of the course, chosen by the student.



The non-attending students the course must study the parts of the program indicated.

The reference texts of the first part are:

- F. Schulz, History of Roman legal science, Oxford, 1953:

Excluded Parts

Introduction: par. iv-v (pp. 2-4)

Part I

Chap. I: par. vi-viii (pp. 12-14)

Cap. II: par. i.4 last part(pag. 17-18), i.5, i.6, i.7, i.8 (pag. 18-19); parr. iii (p. 22).

Part II

Chap. I par. ii.3 (pp. 43-45)

Part III

Chap. I: par. iii-iv (pp. 108-110)

Chap. II: par. ii.5 (pp. 115-117);

Chap. III par. iii (p. 155); pag. 150-151

Part IV

Chap. I par. ii (pp. 268-272); par. iii.4 (pp. 276-277);

Chap. III: in this chapter have to study only the following parts: par. i (pp. 300-301), parr. iv.1, iv.5, iv.9 (pp. 308-309; 315-316; 318-322).

- P. Stein, Roman law in European history, Cambridge, 1999, 3-37.

The reference texts of the second part are:

- B.W. Frier, A Casebook on the Roman Law of Contracts, Oxford, 2021, 1-16; 182-187; 213; 263-265; 300-302; 397-399; 406-407.

- R. Zimmermann, The Law of Obligations: Roman Foundations of the Civilian Tradition, Oxford, 1996, 293-337; 953-960; 998-1011.

For further closer investigation, we suggest watching the videos contained in the playlist indicated below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWYvrKsmKrbqFkbVQK98_9dXR7-xx5t3h

- F. SCHULZ, History of Roman legal science, Oxford, 1953, 1-22; 38-45; 60-69; 99-123; 146-155; 262-289; 300-323.
- P. STEIN, Roman law in European history, Cambridge, 1999, 3-37.
- B.W. FRIER, A Casebook on the Roman Law of Contracts, Oxford, 2021, 1-16; 182-187; 213; 263-265; 300-302; 397-399; 406-407.
- R. ZIMMERMANN, The Law of Obligations: Roman Foundations of the Civilian Tradition, Oxford, 1996, 293-337; 953-997; 998-1049.