Study

This course is designed to teach students basic paradigms and methods of comparative law and how to do research in comparative law through both lectures and projects. We will take different countries as laboratories of legal institutions and endeavor to develop a deeper understanding of the nature and function of law in social, economic, and political development, and how law and culture interact with each other. This course requires class participation (15%), short response papers (15%), and a research paper (70%), which will count for two writing credits for JD/LLM-ICL students and, with instructor approval, may be used to fulfill the SRWP degree requirement for JD students.

This course explores the field of comparative legal studies by inquiring into what it means to compare one legal system with one another, as well as how to determine what ought to count as a legal system in the first place. The study is historical, ranging from the ancient emergence of the Hindu, Confucian, and Roman legal families, to the medieval traditions of Jewish, Islamic, and Canon jurisprudence, and into modernity. From the Renaissance forward, the course investigates several frameworks, including common law, civil law, theocracy, and indigeneity, and the ways in which these legal frameworks transformed in the contexts of nineteenth century imperialism and twentieth century decolonization.  Students will be evaluated on class participation and a 30-research paper. 

Syllabus: 218-01-Fall2023-syllabus.docx22.01 KB

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. This course also features guest lectures given via Zoom by professors from Yale, Virginia, and other institutions.

Evaluation: class participation: 20%, students will be on call roughly every three sessions; paper(s): 80%. Students can choose to write six response papers (five pages each), or a research paper alone or together (30 pages minimum for sole-authored papers). For co-authored papers, each co-author will receive the same grade for the same paper.  A research paper can focus on one country or compare different legal systems. Students should submit their research paper proposal by Sept. 23, which explains their research question, methods and plan including distribution of labor among co-authors for co-authored papers. Finalized paper is due on December 16. The instructor keeps the discretion of approving or not approving a research paper proposal. Sole-authored research papers are also qualified to satisfy JD students’ writing requirements, if they so choose. 

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.