Mauro Cappelletti
Encyclopedia
Mauro Cappelletti was an Italian
jurist
. He received his Doctorate in Law
from the University of Florence
, Italy, and was a Professor of Law at that same institution as well as at Stanford University Law School. Additionally, he was Chairman of the Law School at the European University Institute
, Florence
.
Professor Cappelletti was on the International Advisory Board of the Institute of Foreign and Comparative Law at the University of South Africa. He co-directed, with Professors Joseph Weiler and Monica Seccombe, an international research project on "Methods, Tools and Potential for European Legal Integration in Light of the American Federal Experience," sponsored by the Ford Foundation and European University Institute. Lastly, he also co-directed the Access to Justice project at EUI with Earl Johnson, Jr. in the late 1970s.
For nearly thirty five years, Mauro Cappelletti was essentially concerned about fundamental issues like the orality principle, the fundamental guarantees of the proceedings and their social dimension, access to justice either by means of participation or by the protection of the so-called diffuse interests, alternative ways of guardianship and coexistential justice based on conciliation ways, the judge's role and his responsibility, not to mention, of course, the issue of ideology
.
Another important domain of Mauro Cappelletti's investigations were related to social dimension awareness of the proceedings, which he named copernic revolution, because it broke the traditional approach, leaving room for the procedural experts to turn their attention from law as a rule to law in its effective role in the concrete world, and thus focus the procedure in the light of the users necessities.
His sociological view of the proceedings, inherited from Piero Calamandrei
, the shared experience of the civil law
and the common law
made him a privileged observer of the great conflicts of value of the 20th Century, and most of all, an insuperable reformer in the studies of procedural law
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
. He received his Doctorate in Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
from the University of Florence
University of Florence
The University of Florence is a higher study institute in Florence, central Italy. One of the largest and oldest universities in the country, it consists of 12 faculties...
, Italy, and was a Professor of Law at that same institution as well as at Stanford University Law School. Additionally, he was Chairman of the Law School at the European University Institute
European University Institute
The European University Institute ' in Florence is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute established by European Union member states to contribute to cultural and scientific development in the social sciences, in a European perspective...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
.
Professor Cappelletti was on the International Advisory Board of the Institute of Foreign and Comparative Law at the University of South Africa. He co-directed, with Professors Joseph Weiler and Monica Seccombe, an international research project on "Methods, Tools and Potential for European Legal Integration in Light of the American Federal Experience," sponsored by the Ford Foundation and European University Institute. Lastly, he also co-directed the Access to Justice project at EUI with Earl Johnson, Jr. in the late 1970s.
For nearly thirty five years, Mauro Cappelletti was essentially concerned about fundamental issues like the orality principle, the fundamental guarantees of the proceedings and their social dimension, access to justice either by means of participation or by the protection of the so-called diffuse interests, alternative ways of guardianship and coexistential justice based on conciliation ways, the judge's role and his responsibility, not to mention, of course, the issue of ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
.
Another important domain of Mauro Cappelletti's investigations were related to social dimension awareness of the proceedings, which he named copernic revolution, because it broke the traditional approach, leaving room for the procedural experts to turn their attention from law as a rule to law in its effective role in the concrete world, and thus focus the procedure in the light of the users necessities.
His sociological view of the proceedings, inherited from Piero Calamandrei
Piero Calamandrei
Piero Calamandrei was an Italian author, jurist, soldier, university professor and politician. He was one of Italy's leading authorities on the law of civil procedure....
, the shared experience of the civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
and the common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
made him a privileged observer of the great conflicts of value of the 20th Century, and most of all, an insuperable reformer in the studies of procedural law
Procedural law
Procedural law or adjective law comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil lawsuit, criminal or administrative proceedings. The rules are designed to ensure a fair and consistent application of due process or fundamental justice to all cases that come before...
.