What do you learn at a “Center for Transnational Legal Studies”?

September 16th, 2009 • 3 comments Law, University
Tags: CTLS, Georgetown, transnational, University

So I’m almost three weeks in to studies at the Center for Transnational Legal Studies here in London and the question has already come up a number of times – what exactly is that you are studying there?

Things are only just starting, but here’s a brief of summary of how it’s turning out.

First, it’s a lot of comparative law (or at least critiquing comparative law). In the core, compulsory unit, we have delved head first into how legal scholars classify and compare legal systems and how law is ‘transplanted/exported/shared’ between jurisdictions. The big debate has been the appropriateness of using ‘foreign law’ (by judges particularly), when and how it can be used and by whom.

Second, so far at least, it isn’t really about international law. In the subjects I’ve selected, the only convention we study is the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (though in the first two days we also did a practice exercise using the New York Convention). It has generally been a lot more about conflict (choice) of law issues and abstract legal theory; a mix between comparing jurisdictions and working out how transactions would across jurisdictions.

Third, a lot of what we are learning is from each other. By throwing 71 different students together from universities all over the world CTLS is hoping to teach us a lot about other legal cultures just by having us work together and argue over different approaches. It is actually quite interesting when students and lecturers from different countries start debating and seeing cultures clash in the class room. The difference in educational culture alone is fascinating.

During my first week here I was distracted by a big essay I had due, I’m slowly now getting used to how things work at Swan House in London. There’s been some thought provoking material so far, so hopefully, some of it will make its way here too.

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