The manual General Principles of Civil Law, which is currently in its third edition from 2002, was first published in 1996. The ongoing effort to enrich the book with the problems adjudicated by the courts and the issues arising from scientific dialogue has the side effect of increasing the number of pages with each new edition.

On the other hand, the law student, in the short time span of a few weeks available to understand and assimilate the material of the General Principles, needs a book that is not only reliable and understandable but, above all, concise. At this stage of their studies, references to court decisions and the documentation of theoretical disputes appear unnecessary, if not bothersome.

This realization led to the decision to offer, alongside the standard format of the book, a condensed edition specifically for law students. The difference of this edition from the standard one is that the following have been removed: a) Certain sections of the book that fall within the scope of other subjects (history of law, European community law, etc.). b) The special bibliography at the beginning of each paragraph of the book. c) The footnotes with references to theory and jurisprudence. d) The indexes at the end of the book, alphabetical and legislative sources.

Thus, it became possible to reduce the extent of the book without any deviation from its original goal, which is to provide the new lawyer with the material of the General Principles of Civil Law in a simple, methodical, and understandable manner.

[Excerpt from the text of the preface]