Law, the individual and the market

The PhD in Law, the Individual and the Market is focused on the study of emerging legal phenomena at the global level, from a perspective which is not limited to domestic laws. It adopts a trans-disciplinary approach, in line with the Excellence Project 2023-2027 (Progetto d'Eccellenza 23-27 - Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza). The research makes use of comparative analysis and empirical methodology, both representing necessary tools for critical analysis that can be validated according to internationally recognized methodologies.

The PhD program also aims at educational objectives that are not exclusively academic, in the framework of an integration between the university and the professional worlds. In particular, it aims to train people with soft skills and trans-disciplinary methodological competences, who are capable of team working (the PhD candidates will be actively involved in the three research hubs of the Excellence Project 2023-2027). It also aims at training people able to enter the world of institutions, professions and businesses at the highest levels, thus reaffirming the role of a theoretically rigorous critical training, such as that which characterizes the PhD. Consequently, doctoral students must carry out original research, providing a contribution that must be worthy of publication.

The PhD Course addresses the disciplines of private law that covered under the three research Hubs of the Excellence Project 2023-2027: Institutions and Justice; Gender Issues and Social Sustainability; Environment and Climate Change. These disciplines are affected by the process of evolution and change of the law in the present age. They will be the subject of critical analysis of law that can be validated according to (primarily, empirical) methodologies as are practiced in international legal research.

The courses offered in the framework of the PhD program are taught by professors from the University of Turin and from leading European institutions, identified primarily by the Scientific Committee of the Excellence Project 2023-2027 (Progetto d'Eccellenza 23-27 - Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza), as well as by protagonists of legal culture engaged at a high level in the development of law, such as representatives of the European judiciary.

Such a multicultural teaching staff will ensure an adequate internationalization of the program, which is also promoted through mandatory research stays abroad of 12 months by PhD candidates.

This approach aims at developing the ability of PhD candidates to draft innovative proposals with a critical awareness of the various dimensions of the legal experience, both in terms of interpreting and applying current law, and of the development of new theoretical approaches.

The PhD program is also characterized by its strong opening to empirical legal studies, which characterize problem-led legal research, with high knowledge and operational implications.

Lastly, the PhD offers the opportunity to PhD candidates of exploiting inputs from disciplines which place Law in the broader framework of Human and Social Sciences. It encourages the development of horizontal research throughout these disciplines.

The program covers several thematic areas under the 7th EU Framework Program: not only socio-economic sciences, but also other thematic areas such as access to institutions, gender, health, energy, environment (i.e. the topics referred to in the research hubs of the Excellence Project 2023-2027, in view of a necessary in-depth study of their legal implications).

PhD candidates in Law, the Individual and the Market:

• will acquire systematic understanding of private law, in its broadest sense, and will master current methodological empirical approaches;
• will acquire the skills necessary to design a research project, preferably of a transdisciplinary or multidisciplinary nature, which will lead to the drafting of the doctoral thesis; not only will they be able to design an appropriately articulated research project, but also to implement it according to scientific soundness parameters featuring scientific research.
• will be able to work in team;
• will be able to carry out original scientific research, providing a written contribution that, at least in part, must be worthy of publication at national or international level;
• will be able to communicate with their peers and with the wider community of scholars (jurists and non-jurists) and the public.