Law with Law Studies in Europe

Law with Law Studies in Europe (Italian Law) at Oxford is a four-year programme that provides one of the most rigorous legal educations available in the world while also offering the unique opportunity to study Italian law in depth alongside the English common law tradition. The programme reflects a serious engagement with comparative legal study: rather than simply visiting another system superficially, you develop real knowledge of Italian civil law, rooted in the Roman law tradition that underlies most of continental Europe's legal systems, which gives you a genuinely comparative understanding of how law can be structured and how different legal cultures approach similar problems.

At Oxford, you will study the foundational areas of English law, including contract, tort, constitutional and administrative law, land law, and equity, with the depth and rigour for which Oxford law education is known. The tutorial system means your legal reasoning is closely and individually developed through regular one-to-one and small group work with expert academics. The Italian law component develops your knowledge of the civil law tradition, Italian constitutional law, and key areas of Italian private and public law, alongside sufficient Italian language competence to engage with legal materials in Italian.

The four-year structure gives the programme the time to do both systems justice.

Graduates hold a qualifying law degree and have a substantial knowledge of Italian law that is unusual among UK law graduates. The most direct professional path is into the legal profession in England and Wales through the Solicitors Qualifying Examination, with a significant advantage for roles in commercial firms with Italian or European practices. International law firms with offices in Italy, in-house legal teams of companies with Italian operations, and careers in EU institutions and international organisations are further destinations that draw on the specific Italian law expertise.

Academic research in comparative law, European private law, or constitutional law is a natural path for those who want to develop the intellectual dimensions of the degree. Postgraduate study in Italian law, European law, or comparative law is available for those who want to specialise further.