Byzantine Law

Study:	Civil Law - 9. semester Commercial Law - 9. semester Constitutional-Administrative - 9. semester Criminal Law - 9. semester International Law - 9. semester The European Union Law - 9. semester
Code:	146368
ECTS:	4.0
Course coordinators:	Marko Petrak
Exam dates:	29. 08. 2022. 12. 09. 2022. Exam registration: Studomat

Literature:
Nicholas van der Wal, J. H. A. Lokin; Historiae iuris graeco-romani delineatio; E. Forsten Groningen (1985), str. selected chapters Angeliki E Laiou; Dieter Simon; Law and Society in Byzantium; Dumbarton Oaks (1994), str. selected chapters Wilfried Hartmann; Kenneth Pennington; The History of Byzantine and Eastern Canon Law to 1500; Catholic University of America Press (2012), str. selected chapters
Optional literature:
George Ostrogorsky; History of the Byzantine State; Rutgers University Press (1997) Dimitri Obolensky; The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe: 500-1453; Praeger (1971) Karl Eduard Zachariae von Lingenthal; Geschichte des griechisch-roemischen Rechts; Scientia (1955) Francesco Brandileone; Il diritto bizantino nell'Italia meridionale: dall'VIII ad XII secolo; Jovene Editore (1987)

Description:

The goal of the course is to help the students acquire or expand their knowledge of the Roman legal tradition, especially in the form of Byzantine law (Ius Graeco-Romanum), and thus deepen their understanding of roots of European and Mediterranean legal traditions and cultures.

Introduction to Byzantine law; Byzantine law: its sources and development I - early Byzantine period (Codex Thedosianus, Corpus iuris civilis); Byzantine law: its sources and development II - middle Byzantine period (Ecloga, "Farmer's Law", "Rhodian Sea Law" and "Military Laws"); Byzantine law: its sources and development III - later Byzantine period (Prochiron, Epanagoge, Basilicae, Hexabiblos); Byzantine public law; Byzantine canon law; Byzantine private law I (family law and law of inheritance); Byzantine private law II (real property law and law of obligations); Byzantine law after Byzantium I: Byzantine law and European legal systems; Byzantine law after Byzantium II: Byzantine law and Mediterranean legal systems

Cognitive Skills:

After successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

- evaluate the significance of Byzantine law for European and Mediterranean legal history and legal culture;

- estimate the relation between basic concepts, institutes and branches of Byzantine law, and their mutual influence in comparison with Roman Law and modern European and Mediterranean legal systems;

- assess the significance of Byzantine Law in the context of European and Mediterranean legal traditions, particularly with regard to possible harmonisation and/or unification of law developments;

- estimate the influence of Byzantine law principles and rules on the developments of important aspects of social life as a whole in certain European and Mediterranean countries.

Practical and Generic Skills:

After successfully mastering the course, students will gain competences that will enable them an in-depth analysis of fundamental concepts, institutes and branches of Byzantine Law in comparison with Roman law and modern European and Mediterranean legal systems and their adequate evaluation, particularly taking into consideration possible harmonisation and/or unification law developments. Gained skills will enable the students a comprehensive analysis of foundations of European and Mediterranean legal cultures and traditions on the basis of adequate understanding of historical and comparative context..

Matching Assessments to Learning Outcomes:

The final exam is oral.

Oral examination consists of testing the students ability to evaluate the significance of Byzantine law for European and Mediterranean legal history and legal culture; the estimation of the relation between basic concepts, institutes and branches of Byzantine law, and their mutual influence in comparison with Roman Law and modern European and Mediterranean legal systems; assessment of the significance of Byzantine Law in the context of European and Mediterranean legal traditions, particularly with regard to possible harmonisation and/or unification of law developments; and the estimation of the influence of Byzantine law principles and rules on the developments of important aspects of social life as a whole in certain European and Mediterranean countries.

The student’s active participation during lectures and their optional presentation will be taken into account during their assessment at the final exam.

Consultations schedule: