| CODE | CVL1028 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Contracts and Tort Law | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Civil Law | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit addresses the Civil Code provisions relating to contracts and torts. It concentrates on Obligations in general, Pre-contractual liability, Contract, Quasi-contract, Tort and Quasi-tort, the Modalities of Obligations, the Effects of Obligations, the Modes of Extinction of Obligations and the Proof of Obligations. Particular attention will be given to Tort law, as also to Payment, Novation Set-off and Rescission. Students will be expected to adopt a comparative approach and to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the decisions on the Maltese courts. This study-unit familiarizes students with the laws regulating hiring and letting in Malta, including the special laws of lease as recently amended by Act X of 2009. It introduces students to the historical developments leading to the enactment, and subsequent amendments of these laws. Students will appreciate the interplay of these laws, and eventually identify their respective scope and applicability, thus distinguishing between the original controlling legislation (Reletting of Urban Property (Regulation) Ordinance; Agricultural Leases (Reletting) Ordinance and Housing Act), and the subsequent decontrolling provisions in the Housing (Decontrol) Act including the amendments made by Act No. XXIII of 1979. A detailed analysis of the decontrol ends and means which the legislator sought to achieve through Acts XXXI of 1995 and X of 2009 will also be provided. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims to provide knowledge on the rules of Maltese Law which regulate the institute of letting and hiring. It enables them to distinguish this institute from other institutes of the Law of Property and to interpret the provisions of the law on letting and hiring in terms of case law. It contextualises the relevant principles and rules contained in the Civil Code in relation primarily to the extensive jurisprudence that has developed in this regard, the opinions of leading jurists and the principles which govern the law of Obligations in other European jurisdictions. It also explores the relationship between the fundamental rules and principles regarding Obligations with the rules and principles found in other areas of law and provides authoritative guidance on the fundamental principles of the law of Obligations in the Civilian tradition. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: (a) write about the Civil Code provisions relating to Contract, Quasi-Contract, Tort and Quasi-Tort, including the Modalities of Obligations and the Extinction of Obligations; (b) discuss the leading judgments in the field so as to be able to demonstrate how they have contributed to our understanding of Maltese law; (c) grasp fundamental legal doctrines such as the will theory in contract law and the theory of fault in tort law. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: (a) analyse complicated legal relationships in terms of the responsibility of the key actors involved, both in terms of its nature (contractual, quasi-contractual and so on), its degree and its implications for each of these actors; (b) apply the legal principles and provisions they have learned to hypothetical factual case studies; (c) draw selectively upon Civilian and Common law sources in order to explain and comment upon the principles found in the Civil Code relating to Obligations. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Civil Code, Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta. - Bianca Massimo C., (2001), Diritto Civile. Vol. 3, 4 & 5: Il Contratto, L'Obbligazione, La Responsabilita`, Editore A. Giuffr猫. - J.M.G. Ganado, (1978), Third Year Lecture Notes in Civil Law (Malta University Press). - G. Giorgi, (1900), 鈥淭eoria delle Obbligazioni nel Diritto Moderno Italiano鈥�. Supplementary Readings: - James Gordley, (2007), Foundations of Private Law: Property, Tort, Contract, Unjust Enrichment, Oxford: University Press. - Mazeaud, Henri et L茅on, et Francois Chabas.(1991) "Lecons de Droit Civil rait茅 th茅orique et pratique de la responsabilit茅 civile d茅lictuelle et contractuelle" - Vol. ii Book 1, Obligations, Paris. - W. van Gerven, J. Lever and P. Larouche, (2000) ''Cases, materials and text on national, supranational and international Tort Law'', Hart Publishing, Oxford. - Von Bar, C. (1999) "The Common European Law of Torts", Volumes One and Two, Oxford: University Press. - K. Zweigert and H. K枚tz (1998) 鈥淎n Introduction to Comparative Law鈥� Chapters on Contract, Tort and Unjustified Enrichment). |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Kurt Xerri |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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