Corsi di Studio del Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza

The educational targets of this course, as referred to the degree course in Global Law and Transnational Legal Studies, consist in: 1) providing students with the basic notions of Roman law, also with reference to the technical language related to it, as a necessary basis for studying all law systems belonging to Roman law tradition; 2) introducing students to the understanding of law as a historical phenomenon subjected to modifications, that is to say, to historical development; 3) related to the target mentioned under 2): introducing students to the juridical reasoning (with main reference to civil law area) through examining the development of the institutes and of the systematic aspects of Roman law in the light of the ancient jurists thinking.

At the end of the course, students should be able to explain Roman law basic notions using the necessary technical language in a right way; they should have acquired historical and juridical skills, so that they can explain the institutes of Roman law in their historical development; they should demonstrate to have understood and to be able to express precisely the steps and stages of the process of juridical reasoning referring to each institute and to the systematic aspects of Roman law.

This course offers a survey, both with a systematic and historical approach, of the Roman private law, hemphasising its development from the monarchic period to the Justinian age. Lectures will be focussing on the following thematic sectors: 

1) Roman Institutions;

2) Sources of the Law;

3) Law of Persons;

4) Law of Property;

5) Law of Obligations.

Please take into account that the law of inheritance, the law of actions and the European ius commune are excluded from this course (see under in the textbook section).

18 front lectures, amounting to 36 hours of classes, to be held according to the ordinary timetable.

Students are highly encouraged to attend lectures, so that they can interact with the teacher and ask him each question that should arise from the lecture itself; furthermore, attendance of lectures might hopefully help students to better understand the subject.

Students are strongly advised to register to the moodle page of the course (PRINCIPLES OF ROMAN LAW_M-Z_24_25 | Scuolacle (unito.it)), where they can raise questions outside classes or office hours. Furthermore, additional teaching materials will be uploaded there.

However, lectures do not replace studying of the textbook, as they will cover only the most relevant aspects of Roman law. 

Exam will be divided in two parts. It will take place in the campus IT rooms, along 3 hours.

The first part will consist in a multiple choice (3: three) answers test consisting in 20 (twenty) questions, to be answered in 20 minutes. 

A minimum of 12 (twelve) correct answers will be needed in order to access to the second part of the exam, which will take place shortly after the preliminary test. This written exam will  consist of 2 questions related to the content of the course, to be answered in 40 minutes. Students will be provided with a safe exam browser, to download in the IT rooms during the exam, to be sure that they cannot access to further source of information during the exam. Grades are expressed on a range of 30, with the preliminary test assigning no punctuation. Therefore, punctuation will be assigned on the written test, with 18/30 assigning the minimum score to succeed in the exam, 30 cum laude the top grade. Results will be published in a convenient lapse of time. Students will be given 5 days to accept or refuse their grade.

Students who succeed in the preliminary test, but failed the written exam, are exempted, during the academic year in which they succeed in the preliminary test, from the preliminary test. They are allowed to show directly at the written exam.

Students with some limited skills in the learning process, who follow the required procedure, may apply for exemption from the preliminary test and/or for grant of added time in the written exam. 

Additional teaching materials related to the Roman institutions, to be taken as mandatory part of the program, will be uploaded during the course in the moodle page of the same course (PRINCIPLES OF ROMAN LAW_M-Z_24_25 | Scuolacle (unito.it)).

Students are strongly reccomended to interact with the teacher, so to clarify their doubts related to the subject. They can do so during classes, at the end of them or outside classes. However, should they raise doubts outside classes, they are advised to ask for clarifications regarding the subject in the moodle page of the course or during office hours. During classes office hours will be held Monday to Tuesday, 3 to 4pm (Section D2, 2nd floor, room 38). Outside classes period, students are advised to take a look at the teacher's webpage (Stefano Barbati - Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza - Università degli Studi di Torino (unito.it)) to gain knowledge of the office hours timetable. Students are always welcome during office hours: neither reservation nor previous advice is needed. However, students are advised that the course will be held face to face, not online, therefore the teacher will not take into account questions raised personally per email (which are most of the time answered in this Syllabus), but just submitted in the moodle page with reference to the subject.  

All students are strongly required to register to the course clicking the link at the bottom of this webpage, as this is needed to access to receive news regarding the course (e.g. regarding change of schedule, additional lectures and so on).

Please notice that:

Part I, Chapter 3 (Roman Litigation),

Part III, Chapter 8 (Law of Inheritance),

Part V as a whole (Roman Law and the Modern World) 

of the above mentioned textbook are excluded from this course.

Students are allowed to skip also:

pp. 172 (from the bottom)-180;

pp. 308 (from the bottom)-314;

pp. 317 (since line 8)-319 (up to mid page);

pp. 348 (since line 5)-351 (except the last 5 lines);

pp. 354-356.