Study

This course provides an overview of comparative law. We will learn about the differences and similarities, both real and perceived, between different legal orders. We will compare both civil law and common law systems, and authoritarian and liberal legal systems.

Evaluation: class participation: 10%; two response papers (one page per paper): 20%; group projects: 70%. Each group project can have up to five students and group members will receive the same grade for their project. Such a project can focus on one country or conflicts and cooperation among nation states in transnational law, or, preferably, compare different legal systems. Cross-country and cross-cultural cooperation are highly encouraged. Students should submit their project proposal by Sept. 23, which explains their research question, methods and plan including distribution of labor among group members in one page. Students are required to make a presentation of their project findings at the end of the semester. Finalized paper is due on December 16.

This course provides an overview of comparative law. We will learn about the differences and similarities, both real and perceived, between different legal orders. We will compare both civil law and common law systems, and authoritarian and liberal legal systems. We will also investigate the rise and fall of foreign legal studies in the U.S., from soviet law in the 1960s-1970s, Japanese law in the 1980s-1990s, European Union law in the early 2000s, and Chinese law in the recent decade. We will investigate the impact of American law on foreign countries and international law, and foreign law in American courts. On a theoretical level, we will try to understand what it means to "compare", and how it can help us both to understand other legal systems as well as our own.

Class participation: 10%; 4 response papers (1 page per paper): 20%; final paper (26 pages minimum): 70%. JD students have an option to write a longer paper (30 pages minimum) to satisfy their writing requirements. Please seek the instructor's approval for this writing credit by the end of October. 

This course has two aims. On a practical level, we will learn about the differences and similarities, both real and perceived, between different legal orders. We will focus on legal orders within the "civil" and "common" law and try to find out in which way it makes sense to conceive of them as "the Western Legal Tradition". On a theoretical level, we will try to understand what it means to "compare", and how it can help us both to understand other legal systems as well as our own.

This course has two aims. On a practical level, we will learn about the differences and similarities, both real and perceived, between different legal orders. We will focus on legal orders within the "civil" and "common" law and try to find out in which way it makes sense to conceive of them as "the Western Legal Tradition". On a theoretical level, we will try to understand what it means to "compare", and how it can help us both to understand other legal systems as well as our own.

This course has two aims. On a practical level, we will learn about the differences and similarities, both real and perceived, between different legal orders. We will focus on legal orders within the "civil" and "common" law and try to find out in which way it makes sense to conceive of them as "the Western Legal Tradition". On a theoretical level, we will try to understand what it means to "compare", and how it can help us both to understand other legal systems as well as our own.