Countries seek to embrace the opportunities of AI but recognize that AI also carries significant risks. This course will examine different approaches to AI regulation, including those of the EU, the U.S., and China. How should we regulate a technology whose capacities are evolving and unpredictable? How can we ensure that AI information tools minimize harms? Should we worry if the government dictates what AI can say or not say? We will examine AI controversies, from the use of AI in criminal justice, to efforts to diversify AI outputs with unintended results. AI can create art instantly, but many worry about misappropriation of artistic work. Who should be liable when an AI-based system makes an error? We will focus as well on intellectual property law, tort law, speech law, and discrimination law. No prior knowledge of computer programming or AI is necessary to take this course.
2 Credits. Evaluation: Class Attendance and Participation (20%), Final research paper (4,000 words) (80%).
ONE-PLUS OPTION:
For 1 extra credit, a limited number of students who need to fulfill a graduation requirement at their home university may write a major research paper. To obtain the extra credit, the student must (a) turn in a written outline of the paper for faculty comment relatively early in the semester, (b) turn in a complete first draft for faculty comment two-thirds of the way through the semester, and (c) write a paper of 6,000 words, not including footnotes.
Please note that this course has not yet been approved as a WR course for Georgetown students.
Comparative Jurisprudence: The Civil and Common Law Traditions
James Penner, National University of Singapore
This course will consider a number of topics, examining them from the civil law legal philosophical tradition and the Anglo-American analytic philosophical tradition which dominates in common law jurisdictions. The main focus of the course will be on how these traditions compare in their outlook on a number of subjects of jurisprudential inquiry. Topics will include legal positivism, legal norms, legal validity, sources of law, legal interpretation, legal reasoning, and the nature of legal rules and principles.
2 Credits. Evaluation: Attendance and class participation, including one assigned comment on one of the week’s reading submitted the day prior to the relevant class (20%), Final take-home exam (8 hours) (2,500 words) (80%).
Comparative Public Law in South Asia
Sourav Mandal, Jindal Global Law School
The state of human rights, rule of law, stifling of journalistic freedoms, and climate change; the rise in authoritarianism and the backsliding of democratic institutions worldwide signal at the role and limitations of/on Governments, and the successes and failures of politics in our generation—these are shared concerns at both global and local levels. Thus, for the current generation of law students, it is important that they have a basic understanding of different political systems, various forms of government, followed with a sound grasp over the foundational principles of constitutional law.
This course offers the students to learn about the political systems in the South Asian region through a basic training on the concepts and frameworks of constitutional law, role of the courts, political practice and constitutional culture in South Asia. Further, it will introduce the students to the canonical and critical scholarship on the methodologies and methods of comparative public law, that are used globally.
The course will be of interest to those who are seeking a career in the United Nations, other transnational national organizations like the World Bank, or large global NGOs engaged in human rights advocacy, or in the academia. The course should also be of interest to those seeking a career in the practice of comparative public law, constitutional and human rights litigation, or for those aspiring to have a career into politics, diplomacy and international relations.
1 Credit. Evaluation: Attendance and Class participation (25%): Students are expected to effectively participate in the class discussions while demonstrating familiarity with the course readings, in the absence of which they will not be able to score in this component of the course. Research Essay of 2,500-3,000 words words (75%).
Internet Law
Anupam Chander, Georgetown Law
Almost everything we do, we do at least some aspect of it online. From commerce to speech, internet companies intermediate our daily activities. In the process, internet companies are changing how we live. Is the internet a free speech zone protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, or does it heed hate speech or political speech regulations from abroad? Can copyright law survive the worldwide copying machine of the internet? Is privacy dead when corporations know where you are and what you are doing nearly 24/7? Focusing on U.S. case law and statutes, but also including some European material, this course examines the evolving law regulating internet enterprises.
2 Credits. Evaluation: Class Attendance and Participation (20%), Final take-home exam (8 hours) (2,500 words) (80%).
Judging History: International Adjudication (1872-2024)
Niccolò Ridi, King’s College London
This course offers a unique exploration into the evolution of the global geopolitical landscape and through the lens of international adjudication, that is to say, litigation through international courts and tribunals. Through the lens of landmark cases, this course traces the history of how international law has played a pivotal role in resolving conflicts that have shaped nations and international relations—or in not resolving them at all.
Each lecture will delve into one to three significant cases, examining the legal arguments, historical context, and broader implications of the decisions. The course will explore pivotal cases such as the Alabama Claims arbitration, which was instrumental in the thawing of the relations between the US and the UK after the American Civil War; the Nicaragua case, a watershed moment in the Cold War, where the ICJ ruled against the US interference in Nicaraguan affairs, shaping perceptions of U.S. foreign policy during this period; the WTO Rare Earths dispute, involving China’s export restrictions on critical materials, which highlighted the potential for resource-based leverage in international relations and the role of trade law in addressing power imbalances; the Indus Waters Treaty arbitrations, showing how procedural law can either stimulate or stand in the way of the resolution of a long-standing water-sharing conflict between India and Pakistan; the Von Pezold v Zimbabwe case, in which questions of foreign direct investment protection became interwoven with matters of land ownership and racial discrimination in Zimbabwe, shedding light of the intersection between human rights, property rights, and postcolonial justice in the African context.
Students will engage critically with primary sources such as judgments and pleadings to understand how international law (substantive and procedural) and its application determined the resolution of these disputes, as well as the societal impacts of these rulings. By connecting these cases to broader historical shifts, the course aims to illustrate how international adjudication may serve as a lens and a privileged point of observation to witness the world’s changing political, social, and moral landscapes.
This course is designed for students interested in the intersections of law, history, and international relations, providing them with a comprehensive understanding of the role of law in international affairs and its capacity to drive societal change.
2 Credits. Evaluation: Class participation (20%), Final take-home exam (8 hours) (2,500 – 3,000 words) (80%).
Queering Family Law: How to use Transnational Law as an Advocacy Toolkit
Sourav Mandal, Jindal Global Law School
The theory and practice of Family Law in both domestic and international legal frameworks is gradually transitioning towards an increasingly egalitarian and inclusive space from a domain that has essentially been (and continues to remain) ‘heteronormative’ at its core. Such foundational frames of reference have been shifting/challenged in the last three decades in most parts of the Global North; in the recent years, waves of change are visible in many regions of the Global South too. However, the trajectories of such changes are multi-axial and non-linear, representing a set of complex political and cultural narratives that are often built upon some of the classic conundrums of our times—universal human rights versus pluralism of cultural values; sovereignty of nation states versus a workable transnational legal order; formal versus informal law; law as a tool of governance versus law as an agent of positive social change; legal changes through judicialization versus legislation.
2 Credits. Evaluation: Attendance and Class participation (25%), Research Essay (4,000 words) (75%).
ONE-PLUS OPTION:
For 1 extra credit, a limited number of students who need to fulfill a graduation requirement at their home university may write a major research paper. To obtain the extra credit, the student must (a) turn in a written outline of the paper for faculty comment relatively early in the semester, (b) turn in a complete first draft for faculty comment two-thirds of the way through the semester, and (c) write a paper of 6,000 words, not including footnotes.
Please note that this course has not yet been approved as a WR course for Georgetown students.
Talking about Justice
Hubert Stöckli, University of Fribourg
Delivering justice is a core aspect of any legal system. However, it does not get the attention it deserves in legal education, or so this professor thinks. After many years of teaching, he believes more could be done in this area. This course allows you (and him) to explore different aspects revolving around justice, exchange your views with others, and, quite critically, have your opinions challenged by others. Although essential, the principal aim of this class is not to impart theoretical knowledge. Instead, we will approach the question of what justice can mean in various contexts and how it can be produced, or at least how one can move towards it, by discussing specific problems and cases. This professor’s background is the law of obligations, which explains why some (not all!) cases will be drawn from that area of the law. Guest speakers with diverse expertise will help expand our horizons. Students are expected to actively participate and contribute their views and experiences to the discussions in class.
2 Credits. Evaluation: Class participation (20%), Final research paper (4,000 words) (80%).
The European Union in the World: The Law of EU External Relations
Alberto Miglio, University of Torino
The European Union (EU) is a major actor in international relations and the impact of its policies on the international scene has grown steadily over the years. At the same time, the ability of the EU to act externally is closely tied to the specificities of its own legal order, such as the principle of conferral and its peculiar institutional structure. The study of the law regulating EU external relations is therefore indispensable to understand the scope and the effects of EU action in the international arena.
Against this background, the course is addressed to students with an interest in EU law, trade law or international law more generally and aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the legal aspects of EU external relations.
The course is strongly case law based. Most of the readings are judgments or opinions of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
2 Credits. Evaluation: Attendance and class participation, including one class presentation (25%), Final take-home exam (8 hours) (75%).
The Institutions and Domestic Laws of the European Union
Giovanni Gruni, ESADE Law School
The European Union (EU) is a family of liberal democratic countries, acting collectively through an institutionalized system of decision-making. The EU was set up as a consequence of the negative experiences of the founding member states during and in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. The objective of peace went hand in hand with a desire to ensure that Europe was able to get back on its feet economically after 1945. Although the EU has changed dramatically since the early days of the Community, growth and employment remain at the top of the EU’s agenda. This course will review in depth the origins, evolution and current challenges of the European integration project. The course will focus specifically on the institutional laws of the EU, its core legal concepts and principles as well as the rules on the EU internal market and other core areas of domestic EU laws.
2 Credits. Evaluation: Evaluation: Class participation (20%), Final presentation (30%), Final take-home exam (8 hours) (2,500 words) (50%).
Transnational Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Alberto Miglio, University of Torino and Hubert Stöckli, University of Fribourg
The course provides an overview of the legal framework and the strategic aspects of commercial dispute resolution in a transnational context. It covers both the jurisdictional aspects of cross-border litigation (jurisdiction, choice-of-court agreements, parallel proceedings) and the main alternative dispute resolution methods (mediation, arbitration).
The course approaches the topic from different, complementary perspectives. On the one hand, it looks at how different legal orders regulate transnational dispute settlement. On the other hand, it focuses on the roles of parties involved in the conflict, their lawyers, and neutral third parties hired to help manage the dispute.
The course requires active participation from students. It combines lectures and class discussions with practical activities (e.g., a simulation or a drafting exercise), guest lecture(s), and possibly a visit to a judicial or arbitral institution.
2 Credits. Evaluation: Class participation and practical exercise (30%), Problem-based final take-home exam (8 hours) (2,200 words maximum) (70%).
Transnational Wealth Management Law
James Penner, National University of Singapore
With the leaks of the ‘Panama Papers’ and the ‘Paradise Papers’ the so-called ‘offshore’ financial industry has come under increasing scrutiny in the media. The main question this course will cover is how, in legal terms, the offshore financial industry works. The emphasis will be on the law of trusts of the offshore world, where many of the modern trusts employed to safeguard the assets of the wealthy were developed, especially the development of modern discretionary trust structures. No prior knowledge of the law of trusts is required. The course will also cover the use of civil law foundations to achieve many of the same purposes.
2 Credits. Evaluation: Attendance and class participation, including one assigned comment on one of the week’s reading submitted the day prior to the relevant class (20%), Final take-home exam (8 hours) (2,500 words) (80%).
World Trade Law
Giovanni Gruni, ESADE Law School
World trade law is the body of international laws underpinning international economic exchanges between States. From an embryonic system of rules created after World War II to deal mainly with customs duties on goods, world trade law blossomed into an extensive apparatus of norms including not only free movement of goods and services but also intellectual property rights, food safety, public intervention into the economy and many other areas of regulation. Notably, world trade law is endowed with an exceptionally efficient dispute settlement mechanism, the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which distinguishes itself for its automatic jurisdiction on all matters related to WTO covered agreements. The WTO itself is a complex international organisation created in 1995 which is playing a pivotal role in shaping the rules and policies governing globalisation. In addition to the WTO a complex web of free trade agreements (FTAs) creates one of most developed bodies of norms known to public international law.
This course is an introduction to world trade law in all its substantive, procedural and institutional elements. The course starts with an overview of the history of world trade law since the end of World War II to the creation of the WTO and the emergence of FTAs. The course then delves into the details of WTO institutional design and of selected areas of WTO law and practice: the GATT and free movement of goods, the GATS and free movement of services, Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The courses then focuses on new challenges to world trade law created by the need to protect the environment and social rights, its institutional crisis and the utilization of FTAs as regulatory alternative to the WTO. The last part of the course will explain how the European Union and United States influence the development of world trade law via their international trade policy.
2 Credits. Evaluation: Evaluation: Class participation (20%), Final presentation (30%), Final take-home exam (8 hours) (2,500 words) (50%).
