RICERCA ITALIANA     

Grounds of European Law and Tradition of Roman Law: some aspects in public and private Law.

Università di Pisa

Abstract

The research programme starts from the scientific community renewed interest in the so-called "European Law Grounds" field. As everybody knows, the "European Law Grounds" were introduced by the 21st December 1999 Act Nr. 537, as compulsory subject in the specialization schools for legal professions. With the 4th October 2000 Act, the legislator has assigned the subject to the IUS 18 scientific-disciplinary sector. In a lot of universities the subject is also included in the triennial and specialization degree courses. Interest in the enucleation of the European Law in force roots (or grounds) has opened new inquiry prospects, which have lead, in less than a lustrum, to the flourishing of the first specialized literature (cf. The enclosed bibliographic note) dedicated to the general setting of the subject. Although, up to this date we don't have any "high specialization" studies, which analyse the evolution of single institutes in hystorical perspective, considering legislation actual trends of the European legal systems by the light of the genetic code of the Roman tradition. Particularly, the national project is making a study dedicated to some fundamental branches of Public and Civil Law from the European Law Grounds point of view, and especially: bribery, contract binding moment and precontractual liability, public property, legal protection of the unborn child.

Principal Investigator

Carlo VENTURINI Università di PISA

Research Objectives

The purpose of this research project is to set about sectional studies devoted to highly relevant issues in public and private law within the framework of the so called "Fundamentals of European Law".
The project is aimed at filling up an underscrutinized area both in practice of research and in the related literature, currently oriented to the analysis of general themes but at the same time almost devoid of a careful analysis of genetic fingerprints in specific codified institutions. We are also firmly convinced that a historical perspective and namely a Roman Law approach to modern juridical institutions, would be productive for the formation of a cultural Koinè which account for affinities and differentiations between systems, thus becoming capable of better understanding and of better use of such a scenario in order to enlarge the possibility of mutual enrichment.
Accordingly, it is widely acknowledged the positive role that Roman Law, among other elements, is called to play whether in the harmonisation or in the creation of a unified European Law; the historical approach might explain some of the differences between European Legislations and, furthermore, it might throw the attention on the common legal grounds (ratio) which they are built on.
The research will be carried out in successive stages, each of them reflecting pivotal methodological issues. Firstly, a synchronic comparison between different juridical systems in force will be performed >>>

First Results

The project is divided in two steps.
To the first one will be dedicated the first 12 months of research. The latter will begin with an accurate analysis of the field bibliography and with the finding of the sources, also in other Universities and in the European research offices. The contribution of international fame experts will be of great importance. They will be invited in the seats of the research unities in order to participate to the research itself by means of lessons, seminars, meetings and round tables.
The awaited result of this first step is the finding of all legal and bibliographic European sources which will be useful for the production of scientific articles and for the writing of the monograph concerning the themes of the research program.

Timescale

24 months

National and international background

The research will start from a detailed study on the European Civil Law evolution by the light of the Roman tradition.
Civil Law literature of the Middle Ages, of the Giusnaturalismo and the Giuspositivismo up to the so-called "new codifications" epoch will be considered.
The research will be carried out holding in due consideration the most accurate and recent publications on the so-called "usus modernus pandectarum", the Law of Nature School, the Historical School, the Pandettistica, Civil Law codification in Germany, Prussian, Austrian and Swiss codifications.
Recent studies on the influence of German juridical reflection on Central and Eastern Europe codifications, as well as the traditional treatises on French and Italian Law origins, are interesting too.