Roman Law

A.Y. 2024/2025
6
Max ECTS
42
Overall hours
SSD
IUS/18
Language
English
Learning objectives
The Course aims to:
-provide students with more advanced knowledge of the Roman law of obligations, with particular reference to obligations arising from delicts and to the question of wrongful damage to property (lex Aquilia);
-introduce students to the legal reasoning typical of the Roman jurists and thereby develop their own problem-solving skills;
-examine the historical development of the legal institutions involved;
-improve their command of English legal Language.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
-display a deeper knowledge of the Roman law of obligations, of obligations arising from delicts and of the liability for wrongful damage to property;
-analyse and interpret Roman legal sources;
-understand secondary literature essential for developing a critical approach;
-autonomously elaborate the acquired notions and find solutions to legal cases through juridical reasoning;
-use legal language in an appropriate way.
Single course

This course can be attended as a single course.

Course syllabus and organization

Single session

Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
Obligations and their sources in the Institutes of Gaius and Justinian. Delicts: theft (furtum), robbery (rapina) physical and verbal injury (iniuria) damage to property (damnum iniuria datum), and obligations rising from delicts. Lex Aquilia and wrongful damage to property in particular. Sources will be analysed and discussed with the students.
Prerequisites for admission
Students are required to have passed an exam on Roman Private Law. A good knowledge of English is also required. Knowledge of Latin is not required: an English translation of the Latin sources dealt with will be provided.
Teaching methods
Lectures and discussion groups, with analysis of sources and legal cases. Attendance, though not mandatory, is recommended.
Teaching Resources
Literature:
-P.J. du Plessis, Borkowski's Textbook on Roman Law (6th ed., 2020), ch. 10.
-R. Zimmermann, The Law of Obligations: Roman Foundations of the Civilian Tradition (1996), pp. 903-1094 (ch. 27-31).
-W.W. Buckland, Textbook of Roman Law (3rd ed. revised by P. Stein, 1966), pp. 576-592.
Sources:
-Institutes of Gaius III.182-225.
-Institutes of Justinian IV.1-4.
-Digest 9.2.
More material will be provided during the lectures.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Multiple choice questions (20 questions) and a written analysis and solution of a case. Time available: 2 hours. Each correct answer will be assigned 1 point (the minimum required is 15); the written analysis will receive between 1 and 10 points.
IUS/18 - ROMAN AND ANCIENT LAW - University credits: 6
Lessons: 42 hours
Professor: Atzeri Lorena
Shifts:
Turno
Professor: Atzeri Lorena
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)
Reception:
Wednesday 10.00-12.00 a.m., preferably by appointment. Please contact the teacher via e-mail to arrange an appointment.
Dipartimento di Diritto privato e Storia del diritto, Sezione di Diritto romano (3rd floor); alternatively on MTeams (or a different platform, to be arranged).