Courses

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The Hague, The Netherlands

Week 1
(July 1-4, 2013)

The United States and the International Court of Justice (1 credit)
Instructor: William G. Merkel, Charleston School of Law

This course explores the relationship of the United States to the International Court of Justice, "the principal judicial organ of the United Nations" based in the Peace Palace in The Hague. Students will study the Court's foundations in the United Nations Charter and the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the role of the United States in creating the ICJ after World War II, and the bases whereby states assent to the jurisdiction of the Court in contentious cases. After briefly sketching the outlines of the eighteen cases in which the U.S. has appeared as applicant or respondent before the ICJ since 1950, we will focus on three foundational ICJ opinions from the late Cold War and post Cold War eras: the Diplomatic and Consular Staff Case (United States v. Iran, 1980), Military and Paramilitary Activities in Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States, 1984 (jurisdiction) and 1986 (merits)), and Avena (Mexico v. United States, 2004). As students study these cases, they will prepare for a substantial oral advocacy exercise on the last day of class involving facts similar to Avena, in which a treaty partner of the United States attempts to enforce U.S. obligations respecting the human rights of foreign nationals detained in the United States. The experience will allow students to develop perspectives and analytic skill sets required to solve complex legal problems relating to jurisdictional conflicts and transnational enforcement of norms and judgments.

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Week 2
(July 8-11, 2013)

Common Law v. Civil Law; Judicial Engagement at Trial (1 credit)
Instructor: Judge Edward C. LaRose, Stetson University College of Law

This course aims to introduce students to the differences and similarities between common law judges and civil law judges in the context of trial proceedings.

Central to this introduction will be an examination of (1) how common law and civil law judges address constitutional issues in litigation; (2) the extent of common law and civil law judges' role in pretrial proceedings such as discovery and motion practice; (3) the role of judge as fact-finder; (4) how common law and civil law judges control the presentation of testimonial and documentary evidence; (5) the use of ADR; (6) the role/scope of appellate review; and (7) advances in courtroom technology.
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Lausanne, Switzerland

Week 1
(July 15-18, 2013)

Course 1A:  Global Economic Governance (1 credit)
Instructors:  Michael Hahn, University of Lausanne and Andreas Ziegler, University of Lausanne

This course provides an introduction to the public international legal environment of international trade and investment transactions, focusing on the role and structure of global and regional legal and economic institutions and national government regulations affecting trade and investment.

The course is intended to provide students with a working knowledge of the fundamental legal parameters affecting international economic governance. The course will start with a basic introduction to the various economic theories and ideas with regard to trade and investment (Ziegler), show the historic development and address some of the challenges of 'globalization.' Furthermore, the course will explore the global system governing international trade under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its specialized agreements.

The dispute settlement system (DSU) of the WTO will also be studied by analyzing case law of the GATT/WTO panels and the WTO Appellate Body. An outlook will be given on the current problems relating to other areas such as Investment, competition or labor migration. The course will finally also look in a comparative way at some of the most important regional trade agreements such as the European Union (EU) and its related agreements, NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), ASEAN, APEC (Asia-Pacific Co-operation), Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) and FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas).

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Course 1B: Comparative Ethics and the Globalization of the Legal Profession (1 credit)
Instructor:  Kirsten Davis, Stetson University College of Law

As the legal world becomes ever smaller, understanding complementary and conflicting legal ethical rules across various jurisdictions becomes more pressing.  In fact, the American Bar Association considers the globalization of the legal profession so important that, as part of its Ethics 2020 project, it is addressing issues that implicate the practice of the law worldwide, including international legal services outsourcing, conflicts of interest, emerging technology use, and non-lawyer ownership of law firms (a common occurrence in other countries). Recommendations continue to emerge from the ABA regarding the regulation of lawyers in multi-jurisdictional practice and other jurisdictions likewise continue to revise and rethink their ethics rules in this regard.  The goal of this course is to cover the "hot topics" of legal ethics on the world stage, comparing legal ethics approaches from around the world and evaluating those approaches.  Primary sources will include legal ethics materials from a variety of countries and jurisdictions, including primary ethics sources from Switzerland.  After completing the course, students will understand important global legal ethics issues, be able to identify those issues in practice situations, understand different jurisdictions' approaches to legal ethics questions, evaluate those competing approaches, and assess the relationship between professional identity and various ethics approaches.

Depending on availability, the course may include interaction with bar regulators.  Please note that this course will not be a repeat of the required Professional Responsibility course that covers U.S. legal ethics.  And, it does not require that students have already taken the required course.  Instead, this study-abroad course focuses on globalization and comparative ethics questions using the United States' approach as one comparator.

Week 2
(July 22-25, 2013)

Course 2A: Comparative Law of Immigration and Citizenship (1 credit)
Instructor:   Paul Boudreaux, Stetson University College of Law

This course compares the immigration and citizenship laws of three places – the United States, Switzerland, and the European Union -- and then assesses these laws under principles of international law.  This course will take advantage of the proximity in Geneva of both the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.   

As the world's population grows, as political turmoil continues (such as the Arab Spring), and as human mobility improves, the law of immigration and citizenship becomes more important for millions of people across the globe.  In particular, people from poorer nations seek in increasing numbers of migrate to wealthier nations.  The wealthier nations often impose laws that are self-contradictory and that arguably violate principles of liberty and international standards on human rights.  In Switzerland, for example, standards for asylum are welcoming but the law on citizenship is not (and the law is complicated by national controversies over things such as minarets and the appearance of the national flag.)  In the United States, refugee status is fairly difficult, but gaining citizenship is relatively easier.  In the European Union, tensions among nations – and with non-EU nations – frays the policy goal of free movement among the nations.  In all places, critics assert that restrictions and penalties implicate the International Migrant Workers Convention and other treaties.  The topic fits with my research interest in the law of community development.  I plan to invite at least one speaker from each of the international organizations in Geneva to speak to the class on these topics of great importance in an increasingly interdependent world.

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Course 2B:  Comparative Constitutional Law (1 credit)
Instructor:  Jared A. Goldstein, Roger Williams University School of Law

This course provides a foundation in comparative constitutional law by comparing the two leading western constitutional traditions, the common law and the civil law systems. The comparison will examine three key features of all constitutional systems: constitutional foundations (constitutions and constitutionalism); organization of power (separation of powers, parliamentary or presidential systems, unitary and federal states); and the rights of citizens (models of rights protection; judicial review).

See the world while earning class credit in one of Stetson's many study abroad programs. In an increasingly global society, Stetson University College of Law enables you to discover new lands and foreign legal systems through several international study opportunities, including:

For more information, see International Programs Office or Study Abroad FAQ (PDF) or contact us at international@law.stetson.edu.