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 (Dutch), 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.

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 (e.g. trusts in Anglo-American law, the general theory of contracts in German law).

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

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

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

Course materials:
Part 1, text-book Inleiding tot de rechtsvergelijking (Acco);
Part 2: outlines made available on the electronic notice-board.

At the examination, students are allowed to use a non-legal Dutch-French and/or French-Dutch dictionary.

Other credits in programs