Aims

The aim of the course is twofold: (a) to introduce the student to some major legal systems and to a comparative approach combining several legal traditions; (b) to assist the student in becoming acquainted with the skills required for attending lectures and presenting a written examination in a foreign language (English), specifically in the context of legal studies.

Main themes

Part 1. General: a general survey of some major legal traditions of the world (chthonic law, religious laws; the Hindu, Jewish and Islamic traditions; Western legal systems, etc.).
Part 2. Special: detailed studies of specific institutions in a foreign (Western) legal system - these may vary from one year to another.This part of the course is taught following a case-study method

Content and teaching methods

Contents (see also 'main themes', above):
Part 1: General;
Part 2. Special.

Teaching methods:
Part 1: systematic outlines of the major features of each tradition, including if possible a section on practical issues raised by the application of each non-Western legal system in a Western context;
Part 2: systematic outlines of selected topics, which may vary from one year to another, based on the analysis and discussion of cases

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Prerequisites: a good command of spoken and written English. The student must be able to follow and understand a lecture in English on a general or specific legal topic, and to present an examination, also in English, on questions discussed during the lectures.

Assessment and examination methods: set questions (in English ) on the topics discussed during the lectures, to be answered in English (written examination).

Course materials:
Part 1: P. Glenn, The Legal Traditions of the World (OUP);
Part 2: outlines made available on the electronic notice board and cases available on the internet.

At the examination, students may use a non-legal French-English and/or English-French dictionary

Other credits in programs