What is this course about?
The course aims to provide an introduction to the main approaches and methods in comparative law. The course will follow the development of comparative legal methods from from their first comprehensive elaboration to contemporary issues in comparative law methodology. We will read major texts on the topic and discuss practical legal problems in each class. Those who complete the course will have a general overview of the problems of comparative law methodology, and will be familiar with several classical texts.
Who should take this course?
This is an advanced course. It is aimed at student who are in the final two or three years of their legal studies and take a strong interest in comparative law. It can be also useful for those who are aiming for a legal career at an international law firm, contemplating post-graduate studies either at an LLM or PhD program.
On the other hand, no one should be intimidated by the topic or the outline. This is not an exclusive class aimed at those who spend their free time reading about German tort reform and will end up being Supreme Court judges. This is a pretty run-of-the mill comparative law class built on classical and widely cited texts, which is perfectly enjoyable for every student
with a good command of English and an understanding of the major concepts of criminal law and civil law.
Requirements
As the conversation in in the class will unfold through the discussion of practical legal problems, it is essential that the participants are familiar with basic concepts and legal institutions of criminal law and civil law.
Materials
All relevant literature (required and recommended) is available in the reader, which is accessible on the moodle page of the course. As the course progresses, I will make the ppt presentations and/or outlines also available there.
Attendance Policy
Regular attendance is required.
Assignments
Students will be required to read the compulsory reading material. The recommended readings are aimed at students with particular interest in the topic. The reading of this is voluntary. There will also be assignments for short student papers on a voluntary basis on select topics and materials. These will be discussed at the beginning of the course. A completed assignment relieves the student from the requirement to submit an essay at the end of the term.
Exam, Evaluation and Grading
In order to complete the course, students will be required to submit an essay. Submission deadline is the end of the term. Topics and further details, including a detailed grading policy will be made available on the moodle page of the course at the beginning of the term. The grade received for the essay will constitute the final grade, except for those who have completed an assignment during the course. The latter will be graded based on the assignment.
Textbook
You do not need to have a textbook for this course. However, if you wish to use one as a general reference, I recommend the following two:
Siems, Mathias: Comparative Law. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2014.
Husa, Jaako: A New Introduction to Comparative Law. Hart Publishing, 2015.
For more ambitious students, as well as for those who are already working on their master thesis or their dissertation I would suggest checking out Samuel, Geoffrey: Introduction to Comparative Law. Theory and Method. Hart, Oxford, 2014. This book is aimed at more advanced readers well-versed in social theory and is an extremely helpful reference for developing comparative PhD research projects.
- Tanár: Győry Csaba Dr. (CO0J4F)