Course

Course

Engaging China (Reading Group)

William P. Alford
Fall 2023; Fall 2022; Fall 2021
1 credit
This one unit course will examine the role that China has been playing in a world order in flux. We will consider, inter alia, China’s engagement of existing global norms, ways in which China may (or may not) now or in the foreseeable future be shaping such norms, and their impact on China.  In the course of so doing, we will also address the manner of US engagement with such norms. …

Course

International Business Law

Mark Wu
Fall 2024; Spring 2023
3 Credits
This course aims to provide students with a broad overview of the problems that confront businesses as they go global and how different forms of law work to address such problems. Through a series of examples, the class will explore the legal and policy implications that arise out of cross-border transactions. How do businesses navigate markets that operate very differently than their own home market? We explore how treaties, national laws, and informal norms shape and constrain business decisions. Among the topics to be explored are how businesses deal with issues such as corporate social responsibility, intellectual property protection, corruption, privacy, and enforcement of arbitration awards. This class will focus, in particular, on transactions with Asia, but will draw on examples from other regions as well. …

Course

Comparative Constitutional Law

Tarunabh Khaitan (Visiting Professor)
Fall 2024; Spring 2023
2 credits
This course is a study of constitutional law and politics from a comparative perspective. It has three features that make it distinctive from, and supplementary to, more traditional courses on constitutional law: first, it examines comparative constitutional law primarily through the lens of plurinational and deeply divided societies. One supposed function of constitutions is to enshrine the priority of political and legal mechanisms over violence for resolving societal disputes. A focus on deeply divided societies will allow us to examine this function closely. We will, therefore, draw our examples not only from constitutionally influential jurisdictions (such as United States, United Kingdom and Germany), but also from constitutions of plurinational or deeply divided societies (such as South Africa, Israel, and India). The course may also include material from jurisdictions firmly outside the ‘canon’ of comparative constitutional law, such as China, Iran, Australia, Thailand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Afghanistan, and the Netherlands. …

Course

Comparative Constitutional Law

Vicki C. Jackson
Fall 2023; Fall 2021
4 credits
The course will cover a series of topics arising in the comparative study of constitutional systems. Concentrating on constitutional structure and law in the United States and in such other countries as Australia, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Israel, Japan, Sri Lanka and South Africa, it will examine selected problems of both constitutional design and constitutional adjudication. We will, for example, take up the varying foundations and structures of judicial review of the constitutionality of laws (e.g., how are courts that engage in constitutional review structured, how are their judges appointed, what is the source of their authority to engage in constitutional review), in light of recent controversies (including those involving the environment). …

Course

The Comparative Law Workshop

William P. Alford, Idriss Fofana
Past Instructors: William P. Alford, Intisar Rabb, Idriss Fofana (Fall 2023)
Fall 2024; Fall 2023
2 Credits
This workshop will engage key questions in comparative law, using as focal points the study of African and Chinese and other Asian legal systems (including Islamic law), and legal history. Students will read examples of influential scholarship in each field both for their importance and as a vehicle for thinking about methodological issues in comparative work in general.  Students will also have the opportunity to engage several leading  scholars in each field, as well as scholars earlier in their career, who will present works-in-progress. Students considering taking the Workshop should attend the first class even if not formally enrolled. …

Course

Engaging China

William P. Alford, Steven Wang
Fall 2025; Fall 2024
2 credits
This seminar will focus on the myriad of legal and related policy questions that are central to the U.S.-P.R.C. relationship. Earlier iterations of this class have addressed issues regarding trade, human rights, technology transfer, corporate governance, climate change, corruption, foreign direct and portfolio investment, disability, Taiwan, competing visions of law and development (as played out in Africa),  and the role of lawyers. We anticipate covering a similar set of topics next fall, and may also delve into AI, sanctions, and law of the sea, among other topics. …

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