Legal Studies

This course introduces concepts of international corporate law. It seeks to understand the relation between most major constituents (director, shareholder, officers) in international corporations as well as the relevance of business organizations in corporate transactions such as mergers & acquisitions. The course also provides a basic understanding of fundamental capital market rules. 

The course examines the peculiar nature of early modern English crime, law, and punishment through its recent historiography, testing arguments about social control, the use of evidence, levels of violence, and changing patterns of crime. From the level of state-building down to the pettiest transgressions, students will see the law in action and follow the people in court.

This course examines from a historical perspective the legal transformations in 20th century China and developments towards the rule of law. First, the key concepts of the rule of law are introduced in a straightforward way suitable for students from all backgrounds. The course then examines the Chinese legal tradition up until the late Qing dynasty, including the legal and constitutional reforms introduced in response to the challenge of the West. This is followed by looking at the continuation of the late Qing legal reforms in the Republican era, including the move to one-party rule under the Kuomintang Government, legal and constitutional reforms in post-1945 Taiwan, and the development of the rule of law there. This course also covers legal thought and legal developments in the People’s Republic of China since 1949, including the Maoist era and the “Cultural Revolution”. The final topic is the modernization of the Chinese legal system in the era of “reform and opening”, which considers the legal reforms that have
accompanied the move from a socialist planned economy to a market economy, developments relating to “ruling the country according to law”, constitutional reforms for the protection of property and human rights, and the legal practice of “One Country, Two Systems” in the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. 

This course explores the current state of play in EU platform regulation and the societal developments to which it responds. It covers the most important current issues in platform governance, including topics such as harmful social media content, platform labor, competition in digital markets, and the “platformization” of media and culture. It also explores and analyzes how EU law is responding to these issues, in areas such as data protection and competition law as well as sector-specific regulations targeting platforms, like the just-passed Digital Services Act. While the course focuses on legal issues, a legal background is not essential, as the focus is on how the EU is aiming to address concrete policy issues rather than on technical/doctrinal questions. The course encourages thinking in a critical and interdisciplinary manner. Rather than simply attributing social changes to technological developments, it encourages thinking about how platform companies' technology and business practices interact with and influence broader social and political trends. To this end, class sessions focus on discussing the assigned reading and helping students formulate and share their own opinions on each week's topics.

This course concerns biodiversity law which is, first and foremost, a right to protect species, their habitats, natural areas, and ecological continuity; as well as a law governing certain activities, whether they contribute to the regulation of species (hunting) or are detrimental to them (urban planning, agriculture, development of major infrastructures). The course provides the foundations needed to understand these major legal issues in their various aspects (international law, EU law, and domestic law) while drawing on concrete, emblematic cases.

The course gives students an introduction to some key legal areas relevant to business law. It teaches important aspects of business law, looking at business relationships, agency, and the business organization. 

This course provides the basic knowledge of different forms of international standards, how those standards are made and enforced, and how and why they have impacts on what countries do at home and abroad. It covers international rules governing issues such as human rights, trade, climate, and the use of force in resolving disputes between countries and how they affect the day-to-day lives of people and communities all over the world.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. The course provides in-depth knowledge of European legal foundations, their origin in Roman law, and their subsequent development in Common law and Civil law. Under this framework, the Roman Law's heritage in modern legal systems is investigated, working backward in search of the common legal bases on which the harmonization projects in the European law lays on. In this context the course investigates the persistence of rules and principles of roman law in the present system, working backward in search of the common legal bases that are the basis of the unification of the private projects in contemporary law. At the end of the course, students understand the roots of the European legal traditions, and in particular, they the legal rationale of institutions such as contracts and obligations and their differences under various national contexts.

Constitutional law concerns some of the most fundamental questions about the nation, society, and individuals. It is a body of law governed not only by the wording of the text itself, but also by the implementation and interpretation thereof as contained in specific laws, administrative acts, legal judgments, doctrines, etc. By providing students with the basic tools necessary, this course enables their own formulation and development of their own ideas concerning constitutional issues in Japan.  The course covers the context and history of the constitution; the renunciation of war; the emperor, and the protection of human rights.