Teaching code

4S009808

Teacher

Sara Scola

Coordinator

Sara Scola

Credits

6

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

IUS/01 - PRIVATE LAW

Period

1° periodo lezioni (1A) dal Sep 14, 2026 al Oct 26, 2026.

Courses Single

Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

This course is included in the learning area on Internationalization of the markets. It aims at offering students full knowledge of the internal and EU regulatory framework concerning consumer law in the context of market innovation, under the pressure, in particular, of new technologies, and with attention also to the provisions governing B2B relations insofar they are set forth to regulate the distribution chains of goods intended for final consumers.
The different regulatory sources will be studied in depth in order to allow the learning of the essential notions both from a substantive point of view and from the perspective of remedies, including administrative and judicial, for the protection of consumers and weak entrepreneurs.
At the end of the course, the student will have acquired the ability to formulate, autonomously and critically, complex judgments and arguments on the main topics covered by the course.
Students will also acquire the ability to face and solve practical problems typical of the professional context in which they will operate, thus orienting their competence to the goal of contractual compliance and to the prevention of the judicial conflicts. Students will also be able to verify the practical and applicative consequences of the theoretical and regulatory framework and to set, in written and oral form (and also through group work, written exercises and the method of Problem Based Solving - PBS), the solution to concrete issues, using the appropriate and specific disciplinary vocabulary, adopting the correct lines of reasoning and argumentation, and formulating autonomous judgments. The teaching method used is functional to the continuous learning and updating of acquired knowledge.

Prerequisites and basic notions

A prerequisite for attending the course is knowledge of the basics of private law, with particular emphasis on obligations, contracts, and civil liability.

Program

The following topics will be covered during the lectures:
I. Introduction to the private law of legal transactions in asymmetric contexts. Protected entities: consumers, vulnerable professionals, and minors. European and national sources. Trends toward an ever-increasing focus on online relationships and the digital market. In particular, consumer law. Fundamental rights and professional information duties. II. Unfair commercial practices in business-to-consumer relationships, in the offline world and in the new digital context. Private and public enforcement.
III. Unfair terms in contracts between professionals and consumers, with particular regard to individual and collective remedies.
IV. Pre-contractual information and the right of withdrawal in distance and off-premises contracts.
V. The new regulation of the sale of consumer goods: consumer protections and remedies, including in the digital context.
VI. Producer liability, also in light of artificial intelligence.
VII. The Digital Services Act: towards a single market for digital services in Europe.
VIII. The protection of vulnerable entrepreneurs. The prohibition of abuse of economic dependence, even in the digital context. New frontiers in the regulation of asymmetric contracts: P2B relationships (Platform-to-Business: EU Regulation 2019/1150 and the Digital Markets Act) and an overview of contracts between companies for data sharing (protective provisions of the Data Act).

Reference materials and texts:
Attending students:
The exam can be prepared using lecture notes, supplemented with the material distributed by the course instructors. Non-attending students: For the section on consumer law, the reference manuals, to be studied limited to the indicated sections, are:
1) A. TRABUCCHI, Istituzioni di diritto civile, 51st ed. edited by S. DELLE MONACHE, G. TRABUCCHI, S. TROIANO and M. TESCARO, WOLTERS KLUWER - CEDAM, 2025, limited to the entire Chapter XI (“Consumer contracts”) and paragraph 425, letter b). h (“Producer liability”);
2) AA. VV., Manuale di diritto dei consumi, edited by G. Perlingieri, L. Mezzasoma, M. Angelone, Naples, 2024, limited to Chapter IV (“Unfair commercial practices”), pp. 49-84.

For the part on the protection of the weak entrepreneur, the reference texts, to be studied limited to the parts indicated, are:
1) D'ADDA, V. BACHELET, Lineamenti di diritto europeo dei contratti, Turin, 2020, limited to Chapter I of Part Two (“The prohibition of abuse of economic dependence”), pp. 147-177; 2) V. BACHELET, Il rafforzamento del contrasto agli abusi di posizione “non dominante” delle piattaforme digitali, in Nuove leggi civili commentate, 2023, fasc. 1, pp. 39-85.

It is also essential to consult the updated reference regulatory sources, including in particular the civil code, European directives and regulations and the consumer code.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

A number of lectures will be offered, aimed at providing students with a solid foundation in the main topics of weaker party law. These lectures will be interspersed with numerous opportunities for in-depth discussion and discussion in the classroom, particularly through the students' reasoned resolution of practical cases provided by the instructors and/or through the presentation of group work prepared and presented by the students under the guidance of the instructors. Where possible, part of the course will be dedicated to in-depth seminars on specific topics, directly involving professionals and other experts in the topics covered.
For ERASMUS students, the syllabus must be agreed upon with the instructors at the beginning of the course.

Learning assessment procedures

Attending students:
The exam consists of two parts. The first part evaluates the student's work in solving practical cases provided by the instructors and/or during group work (1/3 of the final grade). The second part consists of an oral exam on the syllabus covered in class (2/3 of the final grade).
Students may also choose to write a short essay on one of the course topics, which must be submitted by the deadline agreed upon with the instructors. If the essay is positively evaluated, the final oral exam may only cover the remaining course topics.
Non-attending students: Oral exam on the course programme.

Evaluation criteria

Knowledge acquisition
Critical reasoning skills
Use of specialized vocabulary

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The exam result is given by the evaluation, expressed in 30, of the oral exam taken by the student according to the methods reported above.

Exam language

italiano

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