The role of the ‘Ius Commune’ as the basis of the legal traditions of the Western Hemisphere will be the general premise of the school. The reinvigorated law of Imperial Rome (civil law) and the growing body of ecclesiastical traditions and papal rulings (canon law), both claiming universal validity, will be studied as distinct but interconnected elements of the ‘Ius Commune’, shaped by the scholarly reasoning of the schools and the elaborate common forms of judicial procedure. The diversity of institutional developments in European countries is covered by the term ‘ius proprium’, shown in territorial, regional, and municipal statutes or customs; in special fields such as criminal law; and in English Common Law information. Specialised lectures and seminars will emphasise the importance of manuscript research in different types of legal sources and literature, including glosses, commentaries, manuals, and treatises, whether civil law, canon law or English common law. The school will also endeavour to identify the common denominators of civil law and common law systems in the modern world and offer research opportunities in comparative European legal history.