Roman Law vs US Law? Il contributo del diritto romano ad un dialogo possibile, in Jus, Rivista di scienze giuridiche

A widespread view, evident to be sure in a certain sector of American public opinion, sees Roman law as the main source of contemporary continental law, and as something that cannot be reconciled, or is even in direct confl ict with, the U.S. legal system. The author counters this impression with an approach consisting of two main lines of argument that in the end converge. First, he considers from an historical perspective the degree of penetration of Roman legal principles into English Common Law, which was later adopted in the United States. Second, he describes the trend which, from one side, has European Law increasingly emerging as a “court-based law”, and on the other, has U.S. law showing, in different ways, a greater preference for a more systematic organization of its rules and approach to their application. By way of these converging paths, the two legal systems are in the process of substantially modifying the homogeneous nature of their fundamental characters as legal systems, and are increasingly emphasizing the common qualities that Roman law can help develop further, in the context of a dialogue thart is both balanced and productive.

Il saggio intende rispondere all'idea, invalsa in dottrina e diffusa nella cultura occidentale per la quale fra l'esperienza giuridica romana e la tradizione di Common Law si porrebbe un divario insanabile. L'a. cerca di dimostrare come ragioni storiche (legate alla presenza romana in Britannia e ad influenze successive) e sistematiche (legate alla crescente attenzione nei confronti di un diritto meno frastagliato nei paesi di C.L.) possano porre le basi per un nuovo dialogo fra i due grandi sistemi giuridici. Ciò anche in funzione di una tendenza del diritto continentale a trovare nel lavorìo delle Corti, specie europee, modelli evolutivi spesso disancorati dalla tradizione del diritto codificato continentale, in termini dunque simmetrici al ruolo delle Corti nei sistemi di Common Law.