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| Semester | fall semester 2023 |
| Course frequency | Every fall sem. |
| Lecturers | Thomas Kadner Graziano (thomas.kadnergraziano@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This course offers an introduction to comparative contract and tort law, and to comparative methodology in general. We will use a learning by doing approach: in each meeting, a scenario taken from a leading court decision in Europe will serve as our starting point. The issues we will address include (tort law): fault-based liability in action – sport accidents; protection of privacy and the purposes of tort law (including punitive damages); damage to public goods, in particular the environment; comparative tort litigation (with a focus on US law); (contract law): conditions for contract formation (cause and consideration); the battle of forms; contractual liability: claims for damages and the role of fault; fundamental change of circumstances. The course material (extracts from civil codes or statutes, court decisions and academic writings) contains the information necessary to solve the case according to the laws of different jurisdictions, such as England, Germany, France, Switzerland, the USA, and, depending on the topic, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, China, and others. The first question in each exercise invites the students to solve the case under the different national laws. The second question invites them to regroup the solutions which fundamentally differ from one another and to systematise them accordingly. In a third step, the students are invited to compare the solutions they have discovered and to identify possible common principles for the issue under examination. Where the national solutions diverge, the participants are invited to weigh up their respective advantages and disadvantages and to finally suggest the solution which seems most appropriate to them. The students thus experience comparative law in a way that is as close as possible to the practical work in this field. |
| Learning objectives | Students will - familiarize themselves with foreign laws, - learn to better understand their foreign colleagues, - have the opportunity to improve their English skills, and - learn to benefit from legal experience made and solutions developed in other countries. They can - thus avoid having to reinvent the wheel over and over again when looking for solutions to solve legal issues and - actively train themselves in the use of the comparative argument for their future work, be it in their work for a legislator, as judges or as lawyers who, for the benefit of their client, seek to persuade a court of a particularly convincing solution already practiced abroad. On completion of the course, they will feel more comfortable in a multijurisdictional world filled with diverse legal thinkers. |
| Bibliography | Thomas Kadner Graziano, Comparative Contract Law – Exercises in Comparative Methodology, 3rd ed., Cheltenham/UK, 2023; Comparative Tort Law – Cases, Materials, and Exercises, London/New York, 2018 (diese Bücher werden den Studierenden zum Selbstkostenpreis von CHF 35 und CHF 40 zur Verfügung gestellt); Für wichtige Hintergrundinformationen: Markus Müller-Chen, Christoph Müller, Corinne Widmer Lüchinger, Comparative Private Law, Zurich, 2015. |
| Comments | No prior knowledge is required, any interested student is welcome. No perfect English is expected, reading the course materials will help improving your English skills from week to week (Fragen können gern auch auf Deutsch gestellt werden). Open book exam: all course materials and notes can be used in the exam. E-Mail-Adresse: Thomas.Kadner@unige.ch (bitte diese Adresse nutzen; Herr Kadner noch keinen Zugang zu seinem Basler E-Mail-Account) Die Vorlesungen werden verblockt und finden wie folgt statt (nicht wöchentlich!): Block 1: 20.9. Block 2: 27.9. Block 3: 11.10. Block 4: 25.10. Block 5: 15.11. Block 6: 29.11 Pro Block finden jeweils vier Vorlesungsstunden statt. Für verpasste Vorlesungen werden Studierenden Aufzeichnungen einer vergleichbaren englischsprachigen Lehrveranstaltung an der Universität Genf zur Verfügung gestellt In der Woche vor Weihnachten findet die Prüfung statt. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Course auditors welcome |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| unregelmässig | See individual dates | ||
| unregelmässig | See individual dates | ||
| Comments | Siehe unter Bemerkung |
| Modules |
Modul: Europäisierung und Globalisierung (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) Module: Basic Legal Principles (Bachelor's degree subject: Law) Module: Basic Legal Principles (Bachelor's Studies: Law) Specialization module: Generalis (Master's Studies: Law) Specialization module: Generalis (Master's Studies: Law (bilingue)) Specialization module: International Law (Master's Studies: Law (bilingue)) Specialization module: International Law (Master's Studies: Law) Wahlbereich Master Rechtswissenschaft (EUCOR): Empfehlungen (Master's Studies: Law (Eucor)) |
| Assessment format | lecture examination |
| Assessment details | Schriftliche Prüfung Masterstudierende und ausserfakultäre Studierende haben nach Rücksprache mit dem Dozierenden die Möglichkeit, durch eine vom Dozierenden zu definierende Zusatzleistung 2 KP zusätzlich – also insgesamt 6 KP - zu erwerben. Die Zusatzleistung ist akzessorisch zur Hauptleistung. 2 KP für die Zusatzleistung gibt es nur in Verbindung mit der ordentlichen Prüfung im gleichen Semester. Im Zeugnis werden 4 + 2 KP ausgewiesen. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Registration: course registration |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | 1-6 0,01 |
| Repeated registration | one repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Law, studiendekanat-ius@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Privatrecht |