The Integrated Diploma in Legal Studies
The Integrated Diploma in Legal Studies is organized into two segments. The first segment consists of two semesters and the second segment of six semesters. The first segment covers the basics of Italian law: introduction to private law and public law, legal techniques; Roman private law, legal history, economics, constitutional law, and general state theory. The second segment is devoted to additional areas of current Italian law: civil law, civil procedure, administrative law, criminal and penal law, labor law, and commercial law, as well as European law and international law. Among the elective subjects from which to choose are finance law or political science. (link curriculum?) The overall curriculum focuses on the subjects of Italian law, which constitute approximately 75% of the total share of hours. The Italian law subjects are taught and tested in Italian. Some material is also taught and tested in German. Cases in point are: the introduction, constitutional law, finance law, and parts of civil law and administrative law. During each academic year, classes in comparative legal terminology are offered which assist in improving relevant German-Italian language skills.
The course of study of Italian law is distinguished by numerous factors. As a result of the close cooperation with the University of Padua, our faculty is drawn from outstanding Italian legal experts, ensuring high levels of expertise. The strength of the Italian law curriculum which is predominantly theoretical in orientation is supplemented in an ideal way by the practical approach of the Austrian law curriculum. Excellent relationships between students and teachers foster open communication between faculty and students, while the small sizes of our classes allow in-depth technical discussions. All of the above contribute to our program’s success.
The bilingual Italian-German courses are a main advantage of our program, providing students with technical terminology in all fields of the law. This promotes and advances the students’ language proficiency. It also meets the specific requirements of the legal landscape of South Tyrol, which requires the mastering of legal terminology in both languages. On the whole, it offers a curriculum that goes beyond the classic law school, attracting students from both Italian and German-speaking areas who are interested in achieving profound legal language competence in both German and Italian. Students of Austrian law may also take classes at the Institute of Italian Law and thus take advantage of a comparative law approach in their legal studies.