Comparative Law and Society

Catalog description

This is a course about the relationship between law and the larger society--but with readings drawn almost entirely from studies carried out in countries other than the United States. The course will look, for examples, at readings from Chile, China, England, Germany, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Venezuela. Introduction: The aim of the seminar is to introduce students to studies of the relationship between law and society, but with an international and comparative perspective. The readings use a broad range of methods and techniques, to explore how legal rules, processes and institutions are framed by, and influence, the social context. Paying attention to the social context opens the door to a richer understanding of the law, a better explanation of what makes it work (or not work) and how it changes over time. Traditionally the field called comparative law has concentrated heavily on differences between common law and civil law; and at principles and doctrines and formal rules. But in the real world we know that systems can behave every differently even if they share formal rules and institutions. Consider, for example, Canada and Jamaica, both common law countries; or Japan, Haiti and Spain --all civil law countries. In many ways, the world today is a global village. Lawyers, too, often work across borders. It is the theory of the course that we can learn a lot about law and legal institutions, if we look at experiences in different countries: plea bargaining in England; how victims of motorcycle accidents in Changmai, Thailand, deal with tort law; how the black market for used cars functioned in the former East Germany; the controversy over honor killings in Jordan; disputes over the sale of tunas in Tokyo's fish market; informal lending markets in Taiwan. The aim is a more general understanding of how legal systems work, how structure and…