Course Information

Course and Exam Schedules

View the 2013 Summer Course Schedule

View the 2013 Summer Exam Schedule

Course Offerings

Once enrolled, you will be notified in late April of the procedures for course registration. You may enroll in a maximum of six credit hours of classes.

This list is subject to change or cancellation depending on sufficient enrollment and availability of faculty members; no prerequisites unless otherwise indicated; any changes will be reflected on this page.

Carriage of Goods by Sea, 2 credits, Hawker (LAW 74453). This course looks at the carriage of goods in international trade. We live in a world in which the transportation of goods is a fundamental part of both international and domestic business, and litigation in respect of these carriage disputes is inevitable. The course is based on English Law, with comparisons made with practice under other jurisdictions where appropriate. English law is frequently chosen to govern shipping contracts, the common law nature of English law allowing for judicial “creativity.” We see, therefore, the development of this area of contract law, which aims to meet the needs of those involved with the international shipment of goods. The course predominately covers contacts for the carriage of goods by sea and charterparties, as most goods are shipped by this mode of transport, although carriage by air and land is introduced. The course also considers difficulties that arise when goods are the subject of a mutimodal contract of carriage, and problems that arise when carriage contracts are negotiated by freight forwarders. The combination of the intellectual rigors of the law and trade realities make this a rewarding subject.

English Legal System, 2 credits, Gregory (LAW 74451). This course examines the principal features of the English legal system and of the constitutional structure, institutions, law and practice of the United Kingdom. Topics studied are designed to draw attention to differences between the English and UK systems and the position in the United States. Topics include the structure and organization of the courts; the legal profession; legal education; judges; the jury; costs and litigation; legal aid; the UK parliament; sources of constitutional law and practice; the UK government; the European dimension; and human rights in the UK.

European Union Law, 2 credits, Moens (LAW 74459). This course introduces students to the legal system of the European Union (EU). Emphasis will be placed on the constitutional, administrative and commercial law of the EU. The topics that will be discussed in this course include the political and economic origins of the EU, its institutional structures (with emphasis on the European Court of Justice), the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the effect of EU Law upon National Law, and the four fundamental freedoms: free movement of goods, workers, services and capital. The course will concentrate on the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice and its contribution to the development of the EU legal system. The textbook used in this course is Commercial Law of the European Union (Springer, 2010) authored by Gabriël Moens and John Trone.

International Business Law, 2 credits, Moens (LAW 74465). This course provides students with an introduction to the law of international trade. It begins with an examination of the concept of free trade and the international structures that have been created to foster the liberalization of international trade. It then focuses on the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), followed by a consideration of Incoterms 2010. The course then focuses on the Uniform Customs and Practices for Documentary Credits (UCP 600) and financing of exports. Finally, this course also focuses on arbitration as a dispute management tool to resolve international commercial disputes. The course may also provide students with an introduction to the World Trade Organization (WTO), anti-dumping and countervailing duties law. Law 70465 or 74465 International Business Law – may not take if student took Law 70437 Intl Business Transactions

Law and Cultural Heritage, 2 credits, Cribari, (LAW 74402). Art and antiquities cause problems. Private collectors and museum directors and curators and boards of trustees, professional and amateur archaeologists, scholars and academics, politicians and legislators and military commanders, native cultures, indigenous peoples, religious groups, conservers and restorers – all have interests in the rare and the beautiful. Those interests may be artistic or scientific, economic, political, cultural or religious. Art and antiquities are also commodities. They can be owned or possessed, loaned or sold, stolen or looted, legally or illegally exported and imported. This summer we will consider a variety of these interests by discussing questions such as should the Elgin Marbles or the Rosetta Stone be in the British Museum, Greece or Egypt? How do countries use their cultural property laws to take down, or erect, cultural and political barriers? Should we protect cultural property during conflict and, if so, how? Do antiquities, like art, have independent artistic value or are they only worth what they are worth for scientific study? What ethical obligations guide museum directors and art restorers? How should we resolve Holocaust-Era art claims? This will be accomplished through readings, lectures, field trips, and the writing of a final research paper/essay (approximately 20 pages) on a subject relevant to the course and approved by the instructor.

Press Freedom in the U.K., 2 credits, Kirtley (LAW 74308). Our goal is to gain an understanding of the legal and social factors that influence freedom of the press and freedom of information in the United Kingdom and to consider differences in style and approach to media and media law in the UK and the United States. This will be accomplished through lectures, field trips, monitoring and analysis of one newspaper’s coverage of a single topic, and the writing of a final research paper/essay (approximately 20 pages) on a subject relevant to the course and approved by the instructor.

Public International Law, 2 credits, Reece-Thomas (LAW 74401). This course examines the vital role of law in contemporary international society; the nature and sources of international law; the relationship between international law and municipal law; international personality; states and non-state actors; dispute settlement; the use of force and peace-keeping; the United Nations system; jurisdiction and immunities; diplomatic law; terrorism; human rights; treaties and state succession; state responsibility and foreign investment protection; law of the sea; and international environmental law.

Course Materials

Casebook and text materials for all courses will be available for purchase in London bookshops and at the Law Centre.