The Italian Legal Model Outside of Europe: India

This paper analyses the influence of the Italian legal model on the Indian legal system. Considering the strong influence of the English common law model and the persistence of traditional Indian models, the influence of civil law countries on Indian law might seem marginal. Nonetheless, civil law models penetrated Indian law as a result of French and Portuguese colonial experiences, and, even more significantly, the reception of English law in India has not prevented the circulation of civil law models at the scientific and legislative level. In this framework, the article explores the influence of the Italian legal model on the law of contemporary India considering specifically the influence of the Italian Constitution on the Constituent Assembly and the Supreme Court of India, and the importance of the idea of the code in the Indian debate on the Uniform Civil Code. The article argues that, even though the Italian influence on Indian law is very limited, it is worth considering because some data can provide useful insights on some general features of legal transplants and on the perception of Italy by Indians.