Introduction to Comparative Law

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 5
• Convenor: Daniele D'Alvia
• Assessment: a 4000-word essay (100%)

The focus of this module is to provide tools and knowledge to read and to understand cases, statutes and legal documents from other jurisdictions. The module will begin by looking at different legal systems (civil law countries such as Italy, France, Germany, and Islamic legal systems) and then it will move to compare them to UK legislative structures. In so doing, the module is broken down into ten different introductory topics (comparative concepts/foundations, legal disciplines, procedural distinctions, etc) devoted to exploring different legal systems. The course will also take into account international law as well as the interconnections between comparative law and private international law.

Indicative Module Content

• Public and private law in comparative legal systems
• Legal transplants and legal formants
• Procedural comparative law
• Islamic finance and west countries financial law
• Comparing contract law
• Comparing family law: legal complexities of cohabitation
• Comparing company law and listing rules
• Reading different constitutions
• Constitutional rights and judicial review in comparison
• Comparing judicial reasoning