Law students will earn four ABA-approved credits under Richmond Law’s credit system. Undergraduate students will earn one credit under the University of Richmond’s undergraduate system. Students from other schools should get advance approval from their schools regarding transfer of credits.
Classes are taught in two sessions per day, Monday through Thursday. For Session One, undergraduates must take Law of the European Union; law students can either take Law of the European Union or both of the following one-credit courses: The English Roots of American Law and Comparative Capital Punishment. For Session Two, all students can opt for either Selected Issues in Public International Law or Comparative Criminal Law & Criminal Justice.
Law of the European Union (two law credits; 0.5 undergraduate units)
Dr. Albertina Albors-Llorens, St. Johns College, University of Cambridge
The European Union legal order stands as a model of supranationalism in Europe. As the Court of Justice of the EU explained in the landmark Van Gend den Loos decision, it constitutes a new legal order that transcends International Law by creating a supranational organisation for the benefit of which Member States have ceded sovereignty in certain fields to a set of institutions whose legally binding acts can have an impact not only on Member States but also on the citizens of those States. This course will explore the unique features of this legal order and will consider their application in two foundational areas of EU law connected to the creation of the single market: free movement of goods and free movement of persons and services.
The English Roots of American Law (one law credit)
Prof. Jack Preis, University of Richmond School of Law
Every generation writes its own story, but no generation writes on a blank slate. This is true of art, science, religion—and law. For centuries, American law has wrestled with its English roots—at times embracing them, at times shunning them, but never escaping them completely. As a result, many parts of American law are a strange amalgam of past and present that cannot be fully comprehended without looking backwards into history. In this course, each class session will delve into an area of American law that has been profoundly shaped by English law and practices. Students will not only learn some fundamental building blocks of American law (e.g., policing, juries, equality, judicial power) but also will learn how these areas of law evolved from English legal principles and practices. The course is not designed for history buffs (though they will likely enjoy it), but for anyone curious about why American law looks the way it does.
Comparative Capital Punishment (one law credit)
Prof. Corinna Lain, University of Richmond School of Law
This course explores the status and administration of the death penalty in various areas of the world. What does the death penalty look like in the United States, and how does it compare with that of other nations? Why have some countries abolished the death penalty but not others? How does the abolition movement abroad affect the administration of the death penalty in the United States? Our comparative lens will consider the socio-political and cultural influences that shape the death penalty (or its abolition) around the world.
Selected Issues in Public International Law (two law credits; 0.5 undergraduate units)
Dr. Rumiana Yotova, Gonville & Caius College, University of Cambridge
This course will explore and critically examine the basic building blocks of international law, including how it is made and applied, who are its subjects, how they resolve their disputes and more broadly, how a decentralised legal system (i.e., one where there is no overarching sovereign) deals with change over time. The course will also look at some of the key areas it regulates, including the law on the use of force and the protection of human rights. Students will have opportunities to work together as a team and to step into the shoes of government legal advisers, international judges, advocates or representatives of the United Nations in order to apply international law to controversial situations inspired by current events.
Comparative Criminal Law & Criminal Justice (two law credits; 0.5 undergraduate units)
Dr. Hend Hanafy, St Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge
This course focuses on selected issues in criminal law and criminal justice that intersect with intricate problems regarding the scope of criminal liability, the respect for individual autonomy, and the balance between extending the law’s protection and principled limits to criminal liability. It considers issues such as consent to harm in non-fatal offences, the justifiability of constructive liability in homicide and non-fatal offences, consent and deception in sexual offences, protection of property rights and protection from exploitation in property offences, and finally, how harm and culpability manifest in sentencing offenders. The course addresses the law in England and Wales, with reflections on continental and US laws as relevant, offering both doctrinal and theoretical considerations.