Obligations of means and of result. Brief notes on the circulation of an idea

Abstract

The circulation of ideas underlies the construction of legal knowledge. Thus, the doctrinal construction of contemporary labour law, with its specific characteristics, makes no exception and is linked to the transnational itineraries of legal ideas in the 19th and 20th centuries. One seminal idea was the distinction between obligations of result and obligations of means, which had been circulating among European jurists and academics since the late 19th century. In Italy, it influenced practical and theoretical choices in relation to employment contract issues during the second post-war period. Today, it is once more being evoked (and discussed) by labour law scholars dealing with smart working and work performance.

Keywords

• law of obligation (history)
• employment contract (history)
• history of legal knowledge
• history of legal thought
• history of labour law