Prof. Federico Pernazza Delivers Lecture at the Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo

On 27 May 2026, Prof. Federico Pernazza delivered a lecture at the Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo entitled “The Enterprise in the Civil Codes of Italy and Brazil.”

The lecture examined, from a historical and comparative law perspective, the transfer of the concept of the enterprise from the Italian legal tradition to Latin American codifications, with particular reference to the Brazilian Civil Code of 2002. Starting from the introduction of the figure of the entrepreneur in the Italian Civil Code of 1942—originally rooted in the corporatist ideology of the Fascist era and subsequently reinterpreted in light of the 1948 Italian Constitution—the presentation traced the evolution of Italian legal scholarship and case law, which progressively detached the concept of the enterprise from the pursuit of profit and instead emphasized the criterion of the economic nature of the activity.

The comparison with the Brazilian legal system highlighted both the significant similarities with the Italian model, particularly regarding the concepts of empresário and estabelecimento, and the most notable differences, foremost among them the central role assigned to consumer protection since the 1988 Brazilian Constitution. Particular attention was also devoted to the Anteprojeto for the reform of the Brazilian Civil Code, currently under consideration by the Federal Senate, which proposes a new and more objective definition of the enterprise, incorporating the social values of labour and human capital in line with global trends towards sustainability and ESG standards.

The event at the Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo—where Tullio Ascarelli taught during his exile following the enactment of the Italian Fascist racial laws—provided a further opportunity for scientific dialogue between the Italian and Brazilian legal traditions.