Fall Term International Law Courses:
Access to Knowledge Practicum (20428) 2 or 3 units. Students in this course will work on projects that promote innovation and distributive justice through the reform of intellectual property and telecommunications laws, treaties, and policies both internationally and in specific countries. These laws, treaties, and policies shape the delivery of health care services, technology, telecommunications access, education, and culture around the globe. Students will supplement their projects with theoretical readings and frequent contact with Information Society Project Fellows. Permission of the instructor required. Enrollment limited to ten. L. DeNardis and L. Shaver
Advanced Civil Liberties and National Security After September 11 (20483) 1 to 3 units. A fieldwork-only option. Prerequisite: Balancing Civil Liberties and National Security Post 9/11. Permission of the instructors required. H.H. Koh, M. Wishnie, J. Freiman, H. Metcalf.
Advanced Environmental Law Seminar: U.S. and EU Approaches to Regulating Chemicals, Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology (20028) 3 units. This course will build upon the survey course in environmental law and policy. The basic objective is to acquaint students with the similarities and differences between U.S. and EU approaches to regulating chemicals, biotechnology, and nanotechnology. The course will begin with an examination of the basic paradigms of Quantitative Risk assessment in the U.S. and the Precautionary Principle in the EU. The course will use a set of reading materials and articles that includes portions of the U.S. Toxic Substance Control Act, the EU proposed regulation on the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH), and the EPA, FDA, and USDA approaches to regulating biotechnology, the EU Labeling and Traceability Law, the U.S. coordinated effort on nanotechnology and the EU White Paper Towards a European Strategy for Nanotechnology. Students will conduct and report on their research on topics related to the course. The emphasis will be on what the U.S. and EU can learn from one another to improve their regulatory systems. Paper required. Enrollment limited to fifteen. E.D. Elliott.
Advanced Topics in Comparative Law (20487) 2 units. This seminar is intended for students who wish to do research and writing on a topic in Comparative Law. The class will read and discuss a variety of texts on comparative law, as well as host guest scholars, who will present their research to the class. The goal of the seminar will be to encourage and train students to do publishable work in comparative law, without prejudice to methodological approach. The course is also open to students with no intention of entering academia. The only prerequisite is that students have an active interest in the law of some country other than the United States, and have a desire to understand — or to explain — how and why practices, traditions, processes, or outcomes differ across legal systems. Paper required. Enrollment limited. M. Damaška and J.Q. Whitman.
Civil Liberties and National Security after September 11 (20343). 3 units, credit/fail. This course will be a hybrid between clinic and seminar, focusing on civil liberties cases arising out of government policies in the aftermath of September 11, including citizen and non-citizen detentions, Fourth and Fifth Amendment issues, international human rights and humanitarian law issues, and so on. Students enrolled in the course will prepare memoranda on points of law at issue in some of these cases, and, as the timing dictates, will help to do legal research and draft amicus briefs based on their research. The course will include a clinical component and a reading seminar focusing on the text of the cases themselves and their precedents. The class will meet at a regularly scheduled time once a week, and one additional weekly meeting period will be arranged at the beginning of the term. Permission of the instructor required. Enrollment limited. H.H. Koh, M. Wishnie, J. Freiman, and H. Metcalf.
Comparative Corporate Capitalism (20489) 2 or 3 units. Forms of corporate ownership and control vary widely from one country to another. The type of corporate capitalism that is found in the United States and that is the usual subject of law school courses in corporate law is, in fact, something of an outlier among these forms. This seminar will examine the organization of enterprise in a range of both developed and developing countries in an effort to comprehend their variety, to probe the reasons for the patterns seen, and to understand the particular problems that the various systems present. As part of this exercise, the seminar will look at the ways in which organizations and organizational law have evolved in different countries over recent centuries, and students will speculate on the directions in which they will continue to evolve in the future. Students will have a choice of writing a series of short papers on the readings or a single substantial paper, perhaps with additional credit. Enrollment limited to fifteen. R. Gilson and H. Hansmann.
Comparative Law (20410) 4 units. An introduction to the comparative study of different legal systems. The course will focus primarily on differences between the ways that law and order are maintained, and justice pursued, in the United States, on the one hand, and in Germany and France, on the other. There will also be some attention to some non-Western traditions, such as those of China, Japan, and Islam. The overarching aim of the course will be to explore the extent to which differences in legal doctrine and legal practice reflect larger differences in social structure. With that aim in mind, the course will explore a variety of issues, among them differences in the French, German, and American concepts of “human dignity” and its protection; differences in civil and criminal procedure; differences in punishment practice; differences in the maintenance of everyday order in the streets; differences in the law of consumer protection; differences in welfare and unemployment law; and differences in the structure and regulation of business and banking enterprises. It is hoped that students will come away from the course both with some knowledge of foreign law and with a heightened sensitivity to some of the ways in which foreign societies can differ from our own. Self-scheduled examination or paper option. J.Q. Whitman.
Contemporary Legal Issues in Africa (20120) 1 unit, credit/fail. This reading group will meet once a week at lunchtime to discuss current events in Africa, with special emphasis on events that raise issues of international law. Each student will be given responsibility for a particular region of Africa and will report weekly on the important events in that region. One unit of credit is available for participants. Students who wish to do more extensive research into the legal issues in their particular region can make special arrangements for additional study, including the awarding of Supervised Analytic Writing credit. It is possible to take this course more than once. No previous background is assumed, only a general interest in increasing awareness of what is currently going on in Africa. L. Brilmayer and D. Wade.
European Convention on Human Rights (20493) 3 units. This course will be an introduction to the legal system established by the European Convention on Human Rights. The Convention covers 850 million people and all forty-seven Contracting States accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights and the right of individuals to directly petition the Court. Today, the Court is the most active rights protecting court in the world, rendering more than 1,500 reasoned decisions per annum. The course will be divided into three parts. Part I will provide an overview of the legal system, focusing on the foundational texts, organizational machinery, and processes of rights protection. Part II will be devoted to the evolution of the case law of the Court in selected areas. Part III will examine the impact of the ECHR and of the Court’s case law on national legal orders. Students will be evaluated on the basis of (1) a take-home final examination or substantial research paper [60 percent]; (2) three short [2-3 page] “response papers” on the weekly readings [15 percent]; and (3) attendance and participation [25 percent]. The class will meet intensively for the first half of the term, and less frequently during the second half of the term. Enrollment will be capped at thirty. Self-scheduled examination or paper option. A. Stone Sweet and L. Wildhaber.
[The] European Union: Public Law and Institutions (20456). 3 units. This course will provide an introduction to the public law of the European Union. Special emphasis will be placed on the historical development of the institutional structures, decision making processes, and foundational legal doctrines of integration, understood in relation to the development of the postwar administrative state on the national level. Significant attention will also be given to the role of the European Court of Justice and the supranational system of judicial remedies as drivers in the process of integration over the last half-century. Scheduled examination or paper option. P. Lindseth.
Human Rights Workshop: Current Issues and Events (20134) 1 unit, credit/fail. Conducted in workshop format and led by Professor Paul Kahn, Director of the Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights, the course will discuss recent writings in the field, presentations from outside guests and participants, and newsworthy events in the human rights arena. This course will meet in weeks when the Legal Theory Workshop does not meet. The workshop is open to the entire community. Those who would like to receive credit will be asked to write several reaction papers and to take responsibility for beginning the discussion. P.W. Kahn.
International Investment Law I (20396) 2 units. As foreign direct investment has increased as a function of globalization, so have disputes about investment. This seminar will examine the international law and procedure applied in the third-party resolution of international investment disputes and the critical policy issues that must now be addressed. Papers may qualify for Substantial Paper or Supervised Analytic Writing credit. Self-scheduled examination or paper option. W.M. Reisman and G. Aguilar-Alvarez.
International Law and Armed Conflicts (20495) 3 units. This course will examine the international law issues which arise in relation to armed conflicts. One of the themes running through the course will be how international law regulates cross-border conflicts involving non-State actors. The course will be divided into three parts. It will begin by considering the international law rules which govern whether and when States are entitled to use armed force. This part of the course will examine the prohibition of the use of force contained in the UN Charter as well as the exceptions to that prohibition. In particular, we will examine the scope of self-defense in international law, (especially as it applies to attacks by non-State groups), as well as other claimed exceptions to the prohibition of the use of force — such as the doctrine of humanitarian intervention. The first part of the course will also examine the powers of the United Nations and regional organizations to authorize the use of force. The second part of the course will examine the law that applies during an armed conflict and will address the distinction between the law applicable to international armed conflicts and that applicable to non-international armed conflicts. In this part, students will also gain an overview of the “Geneva law” relating to the humanitarian protection of victims of war and the “Hague law” relating to the means and methods of warfare. In particular, the course will examine the distinction between international and non-international armed conflicts, between combatants and civilians, as well as the law that applies to the conduct of hostilities. The third and final part of the course will examine institutional aspects of international criminal law, i.e., the enforcement of international humanitarian law and other norms prohibiting human rights violations through criminal prosecutions. In this part, the course will consider the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court as well as of other international and national courts to prosecute individuals for international crimes. Enrollment will be capped at twenty-five. Scheduled examination. D. Akande.
Islamic Law and Ethics (20484). 2 units. An introduction to Islamic legal and ethical thought for advanced students of ethics, law, or political philosophy. The main aims of the course will be to survey the history of (Sunni) Islamic jurisprudence and positive law, to cover the main doctrines and debates on the epistemic status of legal-ethical knowledge and the hermeneutical and analytic methods for deriving it, and then to study in relative depth a single substantive problem in Islamic legal and ethical thought. The case study for Fall 2008 is apostasy in Islamic law. This course will meet according to the Yale College calendar. Also PLSC 589au/RLST 713a. A.F. March.
Law and Globalization (20200). 2 units. As globalization has proceeded, new law and legal practices have emerged and existing legal systems are being transformed. The Fall 2008 seminar will focus on constitutional pluralism in human rights adjudication and on how supranational and national courts interact with one another. The seminar will host seven or eight scholars, each of whom will present recent work, or work-in-progress. On off-weeks, students will read and discuss texts selected by visitors in preparation for their visit. Students will be expected to write two-to-three page discussion papers on these preparatory texts. Students may take the seminar for credit more than once, and they may earn additional credit if they wish to produce a substantial paper. Paper required. Enrollment limited to twelve. A. Stone Sweet.
Laws of War (20497). 1 unit. This course will explore the international legal regime governing armed conflicts. The course will provide an introduction to topics such as status determinations for POW and civilian detainees, protection of civilians during military attacks, and empirical studies of compliance with the laws of war. Students will be evaluated on the basis of (1) reaction papers on the course readings and (2) a short research project completed mid-semester. This course will meet on September 5, 12, and 19, and December 5 and 12. R. Goodman.
Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic (20188). 3 units, credit/fail. Students will work on a variety of human rights projects, generally in support of advocacy efforts of human rights organizations. Projects are designed to give students practical experience with the range of activities in which lawyers engage to promote respect for human rights; to help students build the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective human rights lawyers; and to integrate the theory and practice of human rights. Class sessions will provide an overview of basic human rights principles and their application and instruction in and development of human rights research and writing skills. The clinic will have one or more student directors. Enrollment limited to eighteen. Permission of the instructor required. J.J. Silk and Elizabeth Brundige.
Rights in Comparative Perspectives (20461) 2 units. This research seminar will deal — on a comparative basis — with human rights: their historical origins, their jurisprudential analysis, and their analytical structure. The course will consider specific rights (e.g., freedom of speech, dignity, social, economic, and cultural); positive rights and negative rights; rights under national constitutions and international documents; and rights and the battle on terror. Students will meet individually with the professor during the term to discuss their papers. Paper required. Enrollment limited. A. Barak.
[The] Role of a Judge in a Democratic Society (20500) 2 units. This research seminar will deal — on a comparative law basis — with the role of judges, mainly Supreme Court or Constitutional Court judges in a democracy. It will concentrate on their role to bridge the gap between law and society, and the role to protect the constitution and democracy. The seminar will consider if those are proper roles for judges. Are there more important roles? How do we understand democracy in this respect? The topics will also include analyzing proper tools used by judges to fulfill their role. Subjects that may be researched are: interpretation; gap-filling; and the development of common law. Other topics that are relevant: balancing; quest of non-justiciability; and standing. One may also consider in this respect the place of jurisprudence in performing the role of a judge. Another subject is the way the judgment is articulated and drafted, including the question of minimalism and rhetorics. Other topics may relate to the role of the judge and his interrelationship with the legislative branch (dialogue; judicial review) and with the executive branch (deference). Also included are topics on the role of a judge in a democracy fighting terror. Students will meet individually with the professor during the term to discuss their papers. Paper required. Enrollment limited. A. Barak.
Specialized Legal Research in Foreign and International Law (20196). 1 unit, credit/fail. Explore the major sources of international law, the law of some of the largest inter-governmental organizations, and general methods for finding laws from nations other than the United States. Both print and online sources will be examined. Although several area perspectives will be included, much of the course will be taught from an American perspective and will concentrate on sources widely available in the United States. Assuming sufficient interest, particular research interests of the class may also be explored. A series of short assignments will be required. This course will meet for two hours per week in the first half of the term. No prerequisites. Minimum enrollment of two required. S.B. Kauffman, J.B. Nann, C. Tubbs, T. Miguel.
Spring Term International Law Courses:
Access to Knowledge Practicum (21264) 2 or 3 units. Students in this course will work on projects that promote innovation and distributive justice through the reform of intellectual property and telecommunications laws, treaties, and policies both internationally and in specific countries. These laws, treaties, and policies shape the delivery of health care services, technology, telecommunications access, education, and culture around the globe. Students will supplement their projects with theoretical readings and frequent contact with Information Society Project Fellows. Permission of the instructor required. Enrollment limited to ten. L. DeNardis and L. Shaver
Advanced Civil Liberties and National Security After September 11 (21549) 1 to 3 units. A fieldwork-only option. Permission of the instructors required. H.H. Koh, M. Wishnie, J. Freiman, H. Metcalf.
Civil Liberties and National Security After September 11 (21391). 3 units, credit/fail. This course will be a hybrid between clinic and seminar, focusing primarily on civil liberties cases arising out of government policies in the aftermath of September 11, including citizen and non-citizen detentions, Fourth and Fifth Amendment issues, international human rights and humanitarian law, and so on. Students enrolled in the course will prepare memoranda on points of law at issue in some of these cases, and, as the timing dictates, will help to do legal research and draft amicus briefs based on their research. The course will include a clinical component and a reading seminar focusing on the text of the cases themselves and their precedents. The class will meet at a regularly scheduled time once a week, and one additional weekly meeting period will be arranged at the beginning of the term. Permission of the instructor required. Enrollment limited. H.H. Koh, M. Wishnie, J. Freiman, and H. Metcalf.
Comparative Sentencing Law: Research Seminar (21258). 3 units. This seminar will examine criminal sentencing, within the larger context of the criminal law regime and punishment practices, of various countries and regions throughout the world, drawing parallels where appropriate with sentencing laws, procedures, and practices in the United States. Particular attention will be given to recent changes in law or recent reform movements (such as sentencing guidelines of one form or another). The seminar’s focus will be on sentencing of routine and serious crimes, not on the issue of capital punishment. This is an advanced research seminar. Students who enroll are encouraged to already have some experience with or other demonstrated knowledge of sentencing law in the United States and/or of comparative criminal law. Each student will examine and be expected to write a publishable paper on criminal sentencing in another country. The seminar will provide an opportunity for students to present their ongoing research to other seminar participants, and outside guests where appropriate, throughout the term. The seminar’s focus will include common law and civil code countries such as Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and Scotland; France, Germany, and Italy; Israel, South Africa, and Japan. The seminar will study systems whose sentencing law and practices derive from very different political and criminal law traditions, such as China. Permission of the instructors required. Enrollment limited. D.E. Curtis and N. Gertner.
Contemporary Legal Issues in Africa (21139). 1 unit, credit/fail. This reading group will meet once a week at lunchtime to discuss current events in Africa, with special emphasis on events that raise issues of international law. Each student will be given responsibility for a particular region of Africa and will report weekly on the important events in that region. One unit of credit is available for participants. Students who wish to do more extensive research into the legal issues in their particular region can make special arrangements for additional study, including the awarding of Supervised Analytic Writing credit. It is possible to take this course more than once. No previous background is assumed, only a general interest in increasing awareness of what is currently going on in Africa. L. Brilmayer and D. Wade.
Corruption, Economic Development, and Democracy (21042) 2 or 3 units. A seminar on the link between political and bureaucratic institutions, on the one hand, and economic development, on the other. A particular focus will be the impact of corruption on development and the establishment of democratic government. Paper (3 units) or self-scheduled examination (2 units). Enrollment limited to fifteen. Also PLSC 714b. S. Rose-Ackerman.
Entrepreneurship, Private Vehicles, and the Global Growth of Wealth (21519) 2 units. In a turbulent global economy, characterized by intense demands for growth and value distribution but with recurring scenarios of insufficient resources, stagflation and depression, entrepreneurship and technological innovation emerge as critical variables; through their potential for growing wealth, they can shape the processes of international adjustment and avert zero-sum outcomes. Entrepreneurship and innovation can be facilitated or impeded by different private and quasi-private corporate forms: micro-lending, venture stage companies, private equity, hedge funds and sovereign wealth funds. From the perspective of their potential for growth and macro-economic transformation, each of these private corporate forms will be examined for (a) its financial and legal mechanics; (b) its techniques of valuing assets; (c) its competitive strategy; and (d) in the aggregate, their impact on transnational law and world public order. Decision-makers from the private and public sectors will participate in some sessions. Paper required. W.M. Reisman and P. DeSouza.
Human Rights Workshop: Current Issues and Events (21193) 1 unit, credit/fail. Conducted in workshop format and led by Professor Professor Paul Kahn, Director of the Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights, the course will discuss recent writings in the field, presentations from outside guests and participants, and newsworthy events in the human rights arena. This course will meet in weeks when the Legal Theory Workshop does not meet. The workshop is open to the entire community. Those who would like to receive credit will be asked to write several reaction papers and to take responsibility for beginning the discussion. P.W. Kahn.
International Business Transactions (21209). 4 units. An introduction to the formation, regulation, and global impact of international business transactions. The primary focus of the course will be on the legal and practical aspects of multinational transactions, including the structuring, negotiation, and documentation of the relevant arrangements. A secondary focus will be on the broader economic, political, and social context and consequences of international business transactions. Case studies from Latin America, Asia, the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East will be used. Topics to be discussed include privatization, project finance, letters of credit, conflicts of law, extraterritoriality, sovereign debt restructuring, expropriation, corruption, and the relationships among markets, democracy, and “culture.” Scheduled examination or paper option. A. Chua.
International Commercial Arbitration (21283). 3 units. International arbitration has increased as a function of world trade. This seminar will examine systematically, through statutes, rules, national and international cases, and treaties, the establishment, operation, and implementation of awards of international commercial arbitration tribunals; the role of national courts in compelling, facilitating, and enforcing or vacating arbitral awards; and policies currently under consideration for changing arbitral practices. Scheduled examination. W.M. Reisman.
International Criminal Law (21404). 2 or 3 units. After a brief survey of the history of international criminal law and the development of international criminal courts, the seminar will examine the problem of sources and goals of international criminal justice. Alternative responses to mass atrocities will be explored. Genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression will then be examined in some detail. Next, the attention of the seminar will focus on the departures of international criminal procedure and evidence from forms of justice prevailing in national law enforcement systems. The seminar will end with an analysis of special difficulties encountered by international criminal courts. Scheduled examination or paper option. Enrollment limited to twenty. M.R. Damaška.
International Human Rights: Law and Policy (21009). 4 units. An introduction to the law, policy, theory, institutions, and practice of international human rights. Scheduled examination and short paper. H.H. Koh.
Law and Globalization (21508) 2 units. As globalization has proceeded, new law and legal practices have emerged and existing legal systems are being transformed. The focus of the Spring 2009 seminar will be on multi-national corporations and the choices they make (or do not make) to be “good corporate citizens,” for example with respect to human rights and environmental protection. The seminar will host seven or eight scholars, each of whom will present recent work, or work-in-progress. On off-weeks, the seminar will read and discuss texts selected by our visitors in preparation for their visit. Students will be expected to write two-to-three page discussion papers on these preparatory texts. Students may take the seminar for credit more than once, and they may earn additional credit if they wish to produce a substantial paper. Paper required. Enrollment limited to twelve. D.C. Esty and A. Stone Sweet.
[The] Law of Climate Change (21566) 3 units. This course will explore legal and policy developments pertaining to climate change and the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. Approaches considered will range in scale (state, regional, national, international), temporal scope (incremental measures, multi-decade emissions goals, constitutional amendments), policy orientation (voluntary initiatives, disclosures rules, subsidization, tort litigation, command-and-control regulation, cap-and-trade schemes, emissions taxes), regulatory target (industry and manufacturing, commercial and retail firms, financial and insurance companies, consumers and workers), and regulatory objective (stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations, reduction of emissions levels or intensity, energy security, optimal balancing of costs and benefits, adaption to unavoidable impacts). Although course readings and discussion will focus on existing and actual proposed legal responses to climate change, the overarching aim of the course will be to anticipate how the climate change conundrum will affect our laws and our lives in the long run. No prerequisites. Self-scheduled examination. D. Kysar.
Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic (21152). 3 units, credit/fail. Students will work on a variety of human rights projects, generally in support of the advocacy efforts of human rights organizations. Projects are designed to give students practical experience with the range of activities in which lawyers engage to promote respect for human rights; to help students build the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective human rights lawyers; and to integrate the theory and practice of human rights. Class sessions will provide an overview of basic human rights principles and their application and instruction in and development of human rights research and writing skills. The clinic will have one or more student directors. Enrollment limited to eighteen. Permission of the instructor required. Michael Wishnie and Elizabeth Brundige.
Public Order of the World Community II (21460). 2 units. Using the framework of Public Order of the World Community I, the focus will be on state responsibility, treaty making, diplomacy, the law of war and jurisdiction. Scheduled examination or paper option. L. Brilmayer and W.M. Reisman.
Workshop on Chinese Legal Reform (21361). 1 unit, credit/fail; 2 or 3 graded units with paper. This will be a workshop to examine legal development in China today. Typically, guests from other universities in the U.S. or China will present papers or discuss current issues. P. Gewirtz, J.P. Horsley, and J. Prescott.
World Constitutionalism (21576). 2 or 3 units. Beginning with the American, French, and Latin American Revolutions, the idea of Enlightenment constitutionalism has swept the world — with vastly different consequences in one or another political culture. This seminar will aim to place this world-historical process of adaptation and repudiation into perspective, encouraging students to use their understanding of one or another national history as source for comparative insight. Some places will be reserved for graduate students from Political Science. Paper writing will be encouraged. More ambitious papers will earn additional course credit. Enrollment limited to eighteen. Self-scheduled examination or paper option. Also PLSC 614b. B. Ackerman.