Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning, 1912. / Published also in Jewish quarterly review, new series, v. 2, p. 517-544 (1911-1912) and v. 3, p. 337-396 (1912-1913). No more published?

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning, 1912. / Published also in Jewish quarterly review, new series, v. 2, p. 517-544 (1911-1912) and v. 3, p. 337-396 (1912-1913). No more published?

The goal of this paper is to provide a bird’s eye view on what might qualify as ‘the mother of all distinctions’ within Islamicate history affecting the regulation of human conduct. It is a rather ‘soft’ distinction, whereby the ethical and literary tradition of adab works as an harmonious counterpoint, more than as a sheer alternative, to the normative discourse subsumed under the notion of shari‘a, the law originating from Divine will (shar‘). Adab does so, however, while clearly affirming a distinctive, non-divine (and in this sense ‘secular’) source of norms of human interaction. The paper is divided into two parts: the first delineates the traits of adab in pre-colonial times, while the second focuses on key transformations it underwent during the colonial era.

Questo lavoro intende analizzare il processo di evoluzione giuridica e sociale che ha operato nel mondo musulmano, con particolare riguardo alla condizione femminile e al diritto di famiglia nell’Islam. Date le connotazioni di specificità della giuridicità in ambito islamico, l’analisi delle modalità e degli strumenti con cui sono state portate avanti di volta in volta riforme e istituzionalizzazione di determinati ambiti giuridici consente di leggere l’Oggi con interessanti prospettive. Dopo una parte generale dedicata allo studio del diritto islamico e, in particolare, del diritto di famiglia, si è inteso analizzare il caso della Repubblica Islamica del Pakistan. Un caso oltremodo significativo nell’alternare Tradizione e Modernità e nelle peculiari evoluzioni istituzionali, sociali e politiche. È nella sua storia che si rintraccia sempre questa oscillazione, ma è soprattutto nella produzione normativa e nelle dinamiche sociali che si scopre quanto operino al suo interno meccanismi e movimenti di riforma che non esulano dai riferimenti islamici. Attraverso il periodo di fieldwork in loco, emerge l’immagine di un Paese non solo oggetto di un recente e contemporaneo processo di riforme legislative in materia penale e di diritto di famiglia, ma anche luogo di interessanti evoluzioni interpretative della giurisprudenza e di una società civile attiva e determinata verso l’affermazione di una “via musulmana alla modernità”. / This research aims to highlight the perspectives of reform within Islamic Family Law and in the field of women’s rights, focusing especially on the case of Pakistan. The study is structured in two main parts in the attempt to underline the dialectic between Tradition and Modernity. The first part is an analysis of the sources of Islamic Law, aimed to delineate, on one hand, the instruments of classical and reformist interpretation and the legal procedures which make possible an evolution of the Islamic law and, on the other hand, the influences of the customary practices, with special reference to Islamic Family Law. The second part focuses on the case of Pakistan. The purposes of this section are to analyze the reforms in the field of family law and women’s rights and to examine the significant trends and the debate addressing family law and the related eventual challenges and opportunities. As emerged during my fieldwork I spent in Pakistan, Islam per se cannot be considered the obstacle to modernization since many factors are affecting this process as patriarchal customary practices, poverty, lack of education and awareness, bureaucratic and judiciary inefficiencies. In this view, an effective reformation process could be started from social reforms, especially in the field of education, even the religious one, in order to produce an “attitudinal modernization” and a change in people’s mindset towards a culture of gender equity and respect.

The Mesopotamian inscriptions and collections in ancient Mesopotamia consist of different meanings extended over long time-periods and with social, political, economic and ethnic differences. Scholars in determining whether the texts are an authentic source for Mesopotamian law traditions developed different theories and each of these theories has different variations. In a literature study to obtain if the inscriptions and collections are an authentic source, the different theories and methodologies of the inscriptions and collections were mentioned and the inscriptions and collections were tested in accordance with the characteristics of the Mesopotamian law traditions. Until new interpretation of documents of daily activities and legal activities, which can prove, that these texts are an authentic source, the interpretation of the collections and inscriptions on the legal issues of ancient Mesopotamians must be applied with caution and studied together with the greater corpus of cuneiform texts. / Old Testament and Ancient Near East Studies / M.A. (Ancient Near East Studies)

By taking the recognition of persons as rights-holders in the framework of international human rights into account, this study directs its attention to women in protracted refugee situations, restricted to stay in camps also when their human rights are at risk due to various forms of violence. The question in focus is the following: To what extent may there be a risk that women in a refugee camp context, distinguished by a protracted refugee situation, do not become visible as rights-holders and entrusted to act with regard to international human rights and the problem of violence against women, especially domestic violence? The research process has taken the form of a continuous dialogue with the material for the study, a dialogue directing attention to material from an established international human rights system on one hand and material dealing with a local refugee camp context on the other. The study finds its entry-point primarily in the context of the international human rights treaty the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), including the work of the CEDAW Committee as a treaty body, and also the international mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its causes and consequences. Due to the presence of a variety of justice mechanisms in the camps, certain aspects of a local customary law tradition are also addressed. The existence of an unlocked legal door for women to take actions in family law matters, or in cases of gender-based violence is something not to take for granted. The hindrances could lie deep in the legal system practiced. It could be an issue of not being entrusted by the structure of the system to act in person, as woman, with a legal capacity and by own right before the law. The study underlines the importance of sharpened awareness and analysis of the presence of a complex legal context and a variety of customary law traditions in the camps. It appears from the study that for women in a refugee camp to be able to act as rights-holders and claim human rights as laid down in human rights conventions, the issue of visibility is not only a matter of training in presenting facts on the ground in front of local authorities. To be visible in addressing the problem of gender-based violence and gaps in protection of human rights in a refugee camp context is first and foremost an issue for women to be recognized the right to act in legal matters. It is an issue of having the freedom of expression and to be recognized the social and legal status to act in their own capacity in front of the local legal structures, including the local customary law context, and to address international human rights monitoring mechanisms, such as the CEDAW Committee or the Special Rapporteur.

The Mesopotamian inscriptions and collections in ancient Mesopotamia consist of different meanings extended over long time-periods and with social, political, economic and ethnic differences. Scholars in determining whether the texts are an authentic source for Mesopotamian law traditions developed different theories and each of these theories has different variations. In a literature study to obtain if the inscriptions and collections are an authentic source, the different theories and methodologies of the inscriptions and collections were mentioned and the inscriptions and collections were tested in accordance with the characteristics of the Mesopotamian law traditions. Until new interpretation of documents of daily activities and legal activities, which can prove, that these texts are an authentic source, the interpretation of the collections and inscriptions on the legal issues of ancient Mesopotamians must be applied with caution and studied together with the greater corpus of cuneiform texts. / Old Testament and Ancient Near East Studies / M.A. (Ancient Near East Studies)