«Le obbligazioni nel diritto civile italiano» di Vittorio Polacco

The essay constitutes a re-reading of Vittorio Polacco's ‘Le obbligazioni nel diritto civile italiano’ (‘Obligations in Italian civil law’). It highlights some essential characteristics of the author's method and the still current contribution of the work. He dwells in particular on the distinction between rights in rem and obligation, as well as between contractual and non-contractual liability, in the perspective of which he underlines the relevance of the specific protection of the creditor's interest in the performance. In this perspective, he also notes the critical aspects of the theory of the so-called delictual lesion of credit and the nature of accessory liability for breach of contract. Noting then the lack of a discussion of the theme of the sources of the obligation and a tendency to marginalize the principle of good faith, he examines some significant aspects of Polacco's legal approach emerging in the question of natural obligations