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. 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. 

Fall 2022

Course Number	Course Credits	Evaluation Method	Instructor
218.01	Course Credits 3	Research and/or analytical paper Class participation	Shitong Qiao
Sakai site: https://sakai.duke.edu/portal/site/LAW-218-01-F22
Email list: LAW-218-01-F22@sakai.duke.edu