COMPARATIVE LAW 2006
PROFESSOR SUSANNA FISCHER
Columbus School of Law
The Catholic University of America
Washington, DC
READING LIST
The two required books are K. Zweigert & H. Kötz, An Introduction to
Comparative Law (translated by Tony Weir) (3d ed. Oxford 1998)
(abbreviated “ZK”) and Patrick Glenn, Legal Traditions of the World
(2d ed. Oxford 2004) (abbreviated “Glenn”)
WEEK ONE
Unit I: Concepts and Methodology of Comparative Law
January 10 No assignment
January 12 Concept and Goals of Comparative Law: ZK pp. 2-31.
WEEK TWO
January 17 Methodology of Comparative Law: ZK pp. 33-73, Glenn 1-31
Unit II: The Romananistic Legal Family
January 19 History of French Law, The Code Civil: ZK pp. 74-98
WEEK THREE
January 24 The Reception of the Code Civil: ZK pp. 98-118
January 26 Courts and Lawyers in France: ZK pp. 119-130. Hard copy
of written Statement of Research Paper Topic is due in class today, as
well as list of at least 10 sources, in Blue Book form.
WEEK FOUR
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Unit III: The Germanic Legal Family
January 31 The History of German Law, The German Civil Code: ZK pp.
132-155
February 2 The Austrian and Swiss Civil Codes: ZK pp. 157-179
WEEK FIVE
Unit IV: The Anglo-American Legal Family
February 7 The Development of English Common Law: ZK pp. 180-204,
Glenn 222-247
February 9 Courts and Lawyers in England: ZK pp. 205-217
WEEK SIX
February 14 Global Spread of the Common Law: ZK pp. 218-237
Glenn 247-270
February 16 American Law: ZK pp. 238-255
WEEK SEVEN
Unit V: The Asian Law Family
February 21 Chinese Law: ZK pp. 286-294, Glenn 300-339
February 23 Japanese Law: ZK pp. 295-302, re-read Glenn assignment
from last class
WEEK EIGHT
February 28 No class (Spring Break)
March 2 No class (Spring Break)
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WEEK NINE
Unit VI: Religious Legal Systems
March 7
March 9 Chinese Law: ZK pp. 286-294, Glenn 300-339
WEEK TEN
March 14 No class (Administrative Monday)
March 16 Japanese Law: ZK pp. 295-302, re-read Glenn assignment
from last class
WEEK ELEVEN
March 21 Cthonic/Tribal Law: Glenn pp. 59-91
March 23 repeat assignment on Chthonic law
WEEK TWELVE
March 28 The remainder of the syllabus will be provided subsequently, as
it depends on paper topics to be selected by class students
Hindu ZK pp. 313-319, Glenn pp. 271-300 First Draft of Research
Paper is due in class and must be circulated in hard copy form to all
other students in the class by 5:00 p.m. You must also send me an
electronic copy by 5:00 p.m.
March 30: Islamic Law: Glenn pp. 170-218
WEEK THIRTEEN
April 4 : 10 a.m. Makeup Class Jewish Law – Guest Lecturer,
Professor Mintz: Room TBA: Glenn pp. 92-122.
Regularly Scheduled Class - A Comparative Look at Adverse Possession
Law: United States, United Kingdom, Mexico. Presentation by Kim
Ghibeling. Required reading packet will be handed out by March 28.
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To think about: should the law change to protect informal and extralegal
property rights by, for example, giving land titles to squatters; will doing so
protect capitalism from threats such as terrorism, promote development,
and overcome poverty?
Required Reading: Packet, which includes:
 Excerpt from Jessica A. Clarke, Adverse Possession of Identity:
Radical Theory, Conventional Practice, 85 Or. L. Rev. 563 (2005)
 Excerpt from Joseph William Singer, Property Law, Rules,
Policies, and Practices (3d ed.) (pp. 213-221 on adverse possession)
 Hernando de Soto, Listening to the barking dogs: property law
against poverty in the non-West, Cato Institute, Jan. 1, 2002
 Interview with Hernando de Soto, Worldpress.org (Oct. 15, 2003)
 U.K. Land Registry, Land Registration Act 2002 Fact Sheet 2
Some recommended reading:
 Hernando de Soto, The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism
Succeeds in the West and Fails Everywhere Else (2000)
 Hernando de Soto biography in Wikipedia at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto_(economist)
 Robert J. Samuelson, The Spirit of Capitalism, Foreign Affairs
(Jan/Feb. 2001) at
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20010101fareviewessay2001010112/
robert-j-samuelson/the-spirit-of-capitalism.html (arguing that De
Soto’s theories ignore the importance of cultural differences)
 The economist versus the terrorist, Economist (Jan. 30, 2003), at
http://www.economist.com/people/displayStory.cfm?story_id=155
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 John Gravois, The De Soto Delusion, Slate (Jan. 29, 2005), at
http://slate.com/id/2112792/ (very critical of De Soto)
April 6 : Presentation by Dean Butkovich
WEEK FOURTEEN
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April 11: Presentation by Rachel Viglianti: Reading material has been
distributed to mailboxes
Some recommended reading:
US State and Local Laws on Alcohol and Drinking: at
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/StateAndLocalLaws/index.html
David Hanson, Alcohol Laws and Regulations Often Problematic at:
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Controversies/1115167485.html
Ruth C. Engs, Protestants and Catholics: Drunken Barbarians and
Mellow Romans?, http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/articles/cathprot.htm
SIRC, Social and Cultural Aspects of Drinking, at
http://www.sirc.org/publik/drinking_contents.html Includes extensive
bibliographic materials
Jonathan Amos, Call for drinking age hike, BBC News, at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3101132.stm
(09/11/2003)
Alex Koroknay-Palicz, Legislative Analysis of the National Minimum
Drinking Age Act of 1984, youthrights.org at
http://www.youthrights.org/legana.shtml See NYRA main page at:
http://www.youthrights.org for more material on the drinking age
NHTSA on DWI Laws in Other Countries, at
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/pub/DWIothercountri
es/dwiothercountries.html
BBC News, Binge-drinking page at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/southeast/series2/nhs_binge_drinking_a
lcohol_abuse_drunk_alcoholism.shtml
Dwight B. Heath, ed. International Handbook on Alcohol and Culture
(1995) (book)
IAS fact sheet, Women and Alcohol (UK), at
http://www.ias.org.uk/factsheets/women.pdf
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IAS fact sheet, Adolescents and Alcohol (UK) at
http://www.ias.org.uk/factsheets/adolescents.pdf
IAS fact sheet, Excessive and Problem Drinking in Great Britain, at
http://www.ias.org.uk/factsheets/problemdrinking-gb.pdf
IAS Fact Sheet, Alcohol Consumption and Harm in the UK and EU, at:
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:JEb8GNEvPgsJ:www.ias.org.uk/fa
ctsheets/harm-ukeu.pdf+IAS+EU+UK&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1
April 13: No Class – Holy Thursday
WEEK FIFTEEN
April 18: Presentation by Casey Symington
April 20: Presentations by Chris LaBate and Rand Lucey
WEEK SIXTEEN
April 25: Presentation by Jamie Hamilton
April 27: Presentation by Summer Avery
WEEK SEVENTEEN
Final Draft of Research paper is due by 5:00 p.m. on May 5 in hard
copy form as well as electronic form.
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