This course highlights the fact that large areas of national law are influenced (and sometimes even driven) by developments outside our country’s borders, and that ‘local’ legal practice will often require lawyers to engage with foreign and/or international law – or to apply comparative legal techniques – in their daily work. The focus is very much on the practical application of foreign/comparative/international law in areas such as contract law, torts, constitutional law, human rights protection, public international law, environmental law, development, employment law, criminal law, or economic regulation. The course is based on a background hypothetical involving a U.S. company which seeks to expand its operations – both in terms of production, distribution and administration – to various foreign markets across the globe and/or import to and sell foreign goods in the U.S. Week by week, different legal questions and difficulties arise. These will touch on, e.g., contractual issues, products liability, employment law, environmental regulation, taxation, health and safety (consumer protection), or conflicts of law. International treaties such as TRIPS might also come into play. In one of the two weekly classes the instructor will set out the (new) facts and discuss the core aspects of the relevant area of law. Students will then be asked to research the issues raised in the hypothetical (individually or in groups) and to present in the second weekly meeting their substantive findings as well as any practical difficulties they encountered in the course of their work (language barriers, access to foreign legal materials, or possible non-legal trade-offs between the advantages and problems that foreign jurisdictions might offer or pose in a particular field). The assignment will always require the production of a concise legal memorandum that sets out the issues and possible solutions, and suggests a way forward for the client company. Students should expect a few surprises (such as sudden changes of the situation 24 hours prior to the deadline for completion of the memorandum) and be prepared to present their work in a professional format (both orally and in writing). Successful completion of the course will require submission of the entire portfolio of assignments. Assessment is based on a three-hour final exam. The course will start off with an introduction to comparative methodology, research methods, and an explanation of the background hypothetical, cover 5 distinct problems in selected areas of the law, and close with a final debriefing/review. Students will receive a course package with selected texts about comparative methodology and, in preparation for each problem, substantive background reading that covers the relevant legal topic. The weekly handouts that set out the (developing) narrative of the hypothetical and research assignments may contain additional specific materials such as model contracts, newspaper clippings, or traditional references to cases, statutes, international treaties and legal articles or book chapters. (2 Credits)
Fall 2018
Jörg Fedtke
International & Comparative Law