Francesco Carnelutti (1879-1965)

Francesco Carnelutti (1879–1965) was, along with Pietro Calamandrei, the major Italian proceduralist of his time. Carnelutti’s huge interpretative works overlapped with the Italian Code of Civil Procedure, conceived on the French model and completely detached from the categories of which he made use. Alongside these contributions to procedural law, Carnelutti offered relevant reflections on legal methodology and philosophy of law. His method was based on the observation of reality. If, as a systematic jurist, Carnelutti concluded a historical cycle, in the analysis of case law and in the legal clinic he was a forerunner. Carnelutti was the founder of the first legal journal on procedural law, Rivista di diritto processuale, which still remains a lively laboratory of ideas. As a Christian jurist, Carnelutti was inspired by Christian principles and teachings that deeply influenced his general theory of law and his conception of punishment.